These Are Days
by Genevah
Summary: Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to meet my own likings. Literati goodness with some LL added to the mix...
1. All Apologies

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

**'**~// Gilmore Home: A Month After The Car Accident – March 2, Saturday Night \\~**'**

_Ding Dong._

Both mother and daughter were comfortably seated on their sofa ready for a couch potato night eating red vines and cookie dough along with any and all other combination of sweets and salts appropriate for the Gilmore girls' movie night.

They both looked at each other waiting for the other to cave in and answer the door. An actual minute passed.

_Ding Dong. Knock. Knock. Knock._

"You're closer," they said in unison, narrowing their blue eyes to the other.

"Come on Rory, you know it's your turn. I opened it when the pizza guy came." 

"Well… there was no way I could carry the pizza and cheesy bread, and not to mention the two liter coke with this stupid thing on now could I?" Rory flailed her cast-encased wrist in Lorelai's face.

"Yes… exactly. You've proved my point… it is your turn. Now go get the door," she said, all the while, giving her an encouraging push.

"Fine." Rory conceded and stomped her way towards the door.

Upon opening the door, she was greeted by the one boy who had frequented her home about as much as a guy would visit her girlfriend. But he wasn't her boyfriend and she wasn't his girlfriend. Jess held a book up to her face, leaving a mere inch to read the title and since she was not skilled with reading crossed-eyed she backed away to get a proper reading. She realized it was the same book that she had searched many book stores for but always come up empty.

"Oh my god… Jess…" She was truly awe-struck. Her blue orbs wide with fascination. "How did you find this?" 

He handed it to her and she graciously accepted it. 

"You like?" He eagerly awaited her answer pushing up the sleeves of his shirt as he looked at the book and then at her trying to memorize the look on her face. Her face seemed to light up. He shoved his hands into his pockets, kicking himself inside for feeling this way about her. He had fallen for her and he wasn't sure if he should. 

"Yes, I like very much." Rory said sweetly, feeling the urge to give him a kiss on the cheek. She quickly deflated the idea about as quickly as she thought it. It wasn't the proper thing to do at their level of friendship. She settled for a more appropriate token of appreciation. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He stood staring _at her, then _behind_ her, and then again _at_ her. _

She was too content with looking into Jess' eyes that she momentarily failed to notice his not so subtle hint for an invitation inside. 

"Oh sorry. Come in." She stepped aside allowing him in and closed the door behind her. He waited for her to lead the way. "Mom. Jess is here." She announced. She had already memorized the forced _pleasant_ face her mom reserved for him. She didn't care to see it today. At least she's trying.

Lorelai looked to the two standing in the hallway ready to recite her obligatory greeting to a boy who had weaseled his way into her daughter's life. A boy that she would never allow her daughter to be friends with, but had to if she wanted to keep their one-of-a-kind mother/daughter relationship. Hopefully Jess wouldn't be sticking around for too long. 

"Hey Jess." She said. Her over-exaggerated perkiness always showed how she really felt. The three of them knew how she _really wanted to greet him. _

"Ma'm." He echoed her tone.

She finally gave in and looked at her mom, only to scold her with her withering stare. "We're gonna go hang out in my room for a little while." She walked towards her room with Jess in tow.

"Punk." Lorelai mumbled to herself glaring at Jess' backside.

He felt her glare and turned his head to catch her. Jess-smirk vs. Lorelai-smirk. And the winner is…

Lorelai and Jess were never on good terms to begin with. His first impression was to blame. She could tell he was a bad kid from the moment she walked out on the porch and saw him about to drink _her beer. A beer she never offered him and would never offer him because that would be illegal, but that was beside the point. He layed into her after only just meeting her. The nerve of that kid. And then there was that awful car crash that only fed the fuel to her fire. And on top of that she was ordered by her daughter to give the kid a chance. A second chance. A chance she believed he didn't deserve because he **broke her daughter! **__But living up to the cool mother that she had always been, she sucked it up and agreed to give the boy a second chance. She didn't know that Jess and Rory made a similar agreement before the accident. Jess was ordered to take his sarcastic comments towards her mom down a notch. And he did. Lorelai and Jess had something in common. They both wanted Rory to be happy._

Rory mechanically flipped the light switch in her room and took a seat on the edge of her bed already hungrily skimming through her new book. Jess situated himself against her dresser, his arms folded and enjoying watching her without shame. 

The book was just one of the many little gifts he had given her in an attempt to reconcile what had happened a month ago. The life-altering car crash. A small part of him was thankful that it did happen. They've become closer friends and… Rory was no longer shackled to Dean. 

Rory was upset and frustrated by the town's reaction toward Jess in the aftermath of the crash. Everyone blamed him. Everywhere he went he was met with scornful warning looks. He knew they all wanted him to leave their perfect town. He deserved it so he thought. After all, he did hurt the beloved Rory Gilmore. The guilt was too overwhelming. Even for him. His couldn't face the town… or Luke… or Rory so he left for New York, regrettably without saying goodbye to her. 

After hearing the news of his leaving Rory was left with a myriad of emotions. Angry - because her town was acting idiotic. Annoyed - because Jess didn't have the decency to say goodbye her… and because he didn't give her a chance to plead with him to stay. Empty - because he was gone. 

She never knew missing him would be so hard. After all, they weren't even that close, but there was a connection made and couldn't be forgotten in the blink of an eye. A couple days passed when one day she just had enough… of everything. She was fed up with everything. The town. Her mom. Her grandparents. Her friends. They all blamed the innocent. And she was tired of hearing them talk. They all said the same things over and over. She knew they were the reason he had left town and she wanted him to know from her that it was not his fault. Plus... she missed him. She hated that feeling. It was stupid. It wasn't even his fault! She wanted to hate him for making her feel that way. He didn't have to leave! ...But she could never hate him.

So with her mind set, she ditched school to go to New York. To bring back Jess. She later found it to be quite an easy task. All she did was apologize for her town's accusations, albeit, she showed a great deal of emotion in doing so. Not so in crying though. And when she asked the simple question 'will you come back', he answered with a simple, quiet 'okay'.

How could he turn away from this girl? She came to New York to _fetch_ him. She traveled, by bus, to New York to bring him back. No one would do this for _him._ And that feeling was the greatest high he could have ever felt. Jess found himself back in Stars Hollow later that night. He knew he couldn't stay away from her. How he ever thought he could, baffles him. He cared about her and Rory showed that she cared for him. It was simple and it was honest and it was true. Something he needed and craved.

Rory felt Jess' eyes on her and her suspicions were confirmed when she looked at him. She patted on the area besides her inviting him to share a seat. He obliged. 

"You need to stop giving me these amazing gifts," she said happily as she looked into his eyes. "I told you that you have nothing to be sorry about. None of this was your fault," she said truthfully. 

"I know." 

And with only that said she understood why. He felt guilty about her predicament, with a broken wrist and all. And since _he was the one at the wheel, he blamed himself for breaking her. Also, Lorelai made sure of this. _

She touched the side of his lip where a scar was now forever marked. "Does it still hurt?" She questioned. Her sympathizing expression made him, if possible, feel a little better. 

"Nope." He answered with a crooked smile, silently liking the feel of Rory's touch. 

**'**~// Flashback – February 5, Tuesday Night \\~**'**

It was the night that Dean came back from visiting his grandmother in Chicago. Rory waited nervously for him in front of his house. Rereading a letter she had written to him, explaining the car accident, wishing herself a pencil so she could reword, add, and erase some things. 

He practically jumped out of the car throwing his duffle bag on the sidewalk and ran to her when he saw her standing on his front porch. It wasn't like Rory to wait for him like this. She hadn't shown this type of affection as of late… ever since she befriended Jess. He took quick notice of the cast that unfashionably dressed her wrist. Worry grew rapidly within and he needed answers. And when he asked her what happened she handed him a letter. _Was this some kind of joke? He didn't want answers in the form of a note. _How could that possibly answer why she was wearing a freakin' cast?_ _

She was insistent on him reading the letter. She wouldn't tell him and he was desperate for answers. He did as she wished. After verbally expressing his anger with endless 'whats' with his initial reading, his anger intensified as he reached the meat of the letter. The four letters J-E-S-S somehow though somewhat expected, had some importance to be mentioned in the fucking note. In so many useless words written on a piece of paper, he came to his own conclusion that Jess crashed the car. The fucking car **he built** for _Rory! That fucking bastard. He starting to see red. Physical anger itched to be expressed in some form or he would literally explode. _

He kicked his bag on the sidewalk forcefully into a nearby bush, cracking twigs, creating an ugly dent in the poor unsuspecting bush. As he read on, the redness cleared somewhat and he simply said 'You sure you're alright', which in turn she answered with a 'yes'. And with that Dean invited her in to have dinner with his family. She obediently accepted.

The next day Dean hunted around Stars Hollow for the prick that crashed Rory's car and broke her wrist. He went to the diner, but no Jess. He wandered around aimlessly, wondering if he were Jess where would he go. He recalled spying on him taking Rory to the bridge after the Bid-A-Basket auction. He headed towards the bridge and to his reward he found him sitting on the wooden planks of the bridge, feet dangling, and smoke oozing from his mouth. His blood boiled at the sight. Dean lost all his senses. He stalked over to Jess, yanked him up vigorously by his jacket and punched him in the mouth without any kind of warning. 

Within ten minutes after the two boys' altercation, Rory learned of the fresh events through the Stars Hollow grapevine and sought out Jess. An hour had past when she finally found him behind the Independence Inn sitting under a tree nearby the lake, leaning against its trunk. She cautiously walked up to him and quietly sat down beside him. It hurt to look at him. How could Dean do something so stupid? Didn't he read the letter! It wasn't Jess' fault!

"I'm so so sorry Jess," she said sincerely, holding back any comings of tears. 

"For what," he said flatly and took one last hit of his cigarette before tossing it. He knew Rory didn't like him smoking. She once told him that he stunk. She was brutally honest and it kinda stung. He didn't want her to think of him as a stinky boy. He even attempted to quit so she wouldn't think that and she'd have a more pleasurable experience with him without having to smell his _stinky-ness_. He was doing exceptionally well with it, but now under the circumstances he took it up again. He didn't give a fuck if he stunk.

"For everything, the accident…," she said quickly and then, "Dean hitting you…," barely being heard as they both stared out at the murky water before them. 

Jess averted his focus. He seemed to be really interested on a bug crawling up his pant leg, "Rory…," he didn't know what to say her. He didn't bother to continue. Rory didn't need him to say anymore. They sat in silence, comforted by each others presence. 

As they sat there, Rory contemplated on what to say to Dean. She was thankful for the time she had to calm herself down because from the moment she heard of their fighting, she wanted to physically punch Dean. It wasn't Jess' fault. None of this was his fault. If anyone was to blame, it was her. _She_ was the sole source. She was the one that handed Jess the keys. It was her car and yet _she told him to drive. And s_he_ was the one that told him to keep on driving instead of heading back to the diner. _She_ was the reason that made Dean get into it with Jess. _

She felt crumby. 

She looked over at Jess who was staring blankly at the water, fiddling with a piece of grass he had just uprooted. The side of his lip was cut and swelling up more and more by the minute. 

"Jess," she said breaking the silence. "I think you need to get some ice on that or have a doctor look at it," looking straight at his mouth. He looked over at her and saw the pain in her eyes. He ignored the pulsating pain of the slit in the corner of his mouth—at least it stopped bleeding. 

"I'm fine." He didn't want her to see him like this. "You should go… it's getting late."

She nodded, knowing he needed to be alone. She stood up and turned to have one last look at him. "I'm so sorry Jess." She felt the need to say it again. He nodded to her and stared back at the water, wishing he could just hug her.

Dean knew that Rory would be upset with him for fighting with Jess and he was prepared to deal with the consequences. He figured he would just explain his reasons and she'd forgive him. After all, from his point of view, he was looking out for her. He waited for her at her house sitting on the swing on her front porch.

Caught up in her own thoughts, Rory hadn't noticed him sitting there until he spoke. 

"Rory… please just let me explain…," he said as he stood up and walked towards her as she was about to open her front door. She looked at him. Apparently Jess wasn't the only one who's going to be left with some kind of scar reminiscent of their fight. Rory tried not to feel sorry for him. He deserved it.

"I **don't** want to hear it Dean." She was so disappointed by the way he acted. She didn't want to hear anything he had to say. She felt repulsed by him. She didn't want to hear his excuses or more importantly, his rants on Jess. She was tired of hearing it and tired his overly protective ways. "Just leave me alone. I don't ever want to see you again", she said evenly, no signs of faltering. She was sure of how she felt. She didn't even have to suppress any comings of tears because there were none to begin with.

"Rory, you can't mean that." He was both stunned and scared at seeing how certain she was. _This is_ _not how it was supposed to happen_, he cried to himself."Wait. Please. Let me explain," he said desperately. He knew he was begging. He knew he sounded completely stupid, but he loved Rory and she supposedly loved him back. _What the hell was happening? Seeing that she was about to go inside, he gently but firmly grabbed her by the arm. "Please. Rory. I'm sorry…," his voice began to quiver as the reality of the situation hit him. He lost her. To __him. _

She released herself from his hold. 

"I can't do this anymore Dean. **Please, just **leave**." **

He felt betrayed. She was so cold to him. He saw no tears. She was done with him. 

**'**~// End Flashback \\~**'**

"So," Rory said, wanting so much to read her new book.

"So," Jess said.

"Would you read this to me?" 

"Sure, why not."

Rory scooted towards the head of her bed. Jess followed.


	2. In My Place

**`*~ These Are Days ~*` **

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily changing the storyline.

Rory stirred in her sleep, relishing in the comfortable warmth surrounding her. She expected to open her eyes to the rays of the morning sun, but she was mistaken, she opened her eyes to nothing but darkness. There was something heavy on her stomach. She reached down to feel what it was, almost losing her fingers in a thick head of hair that started to move under her touch.

"What the…," Rory whispered still half asleep.

"Mmm," a sleepy moan came from the thick head of hair.

Her confusion lessened as things became clear to her. She remembered Jess reading to her… they must have fallen asleep…

"Oh my god!" She quickly sat up, the thick head of hair now on her lap.

"What. What's goin' on?" The talking head asked, still not fully conscious of the situation, still half-asleep. Even attempting to go back to sleep.

She looked over at her alarm clock, the bright red light screaming at her it's **3:38 A.M.**

"Oh my god… Jess." She shook his shoulder trying to make him wake up. "We fell asleep… crap…" She gave him a funny panicked look, "you have to go." She moved from underneath him, standing up over him, leaving him a little less warm. 

Rory grew frantic as scenarios played in her head of her mother killing Jess. She practically had to drag him off the bed. _Why the hell wasn't he moving?_

"Rory… calm down." He said coolly still trying to wake up and assess the situation all at the same time. 

"**You**. Need to **leave**. Like five hours ago." She said hysterically motioning him towards the window.

"Rory… hold on a second." He didn't know why he was stalling. He was still recovering from the fact that he was sleeping with Rory. It was kinda nice to think about. 

"**Jess**… do you not understand what bodily harm my mom can inflict upon you if she catches you in here," she warned.

Finally he came to his senses, "Right. I'm out." He replied, hurriedly moving towards the window. She followed.

"Shhh… not so loud," Rory scolded quietly when he bumped into the chair on his way to the window making in a loud screech on the wooden floor. They stood frozen for a moment, hearts racing, not exactly knowing what they were waiting for.

"Go go go," Rory ordered.

Jess opened the window and slid out like a pro. Rory was a bit impressed. "Goodbye Rory," he smirked. 

"Bye Jess." She smiled and watched him leave.

She wondered why her mother hadn't checked up on them. It wasn't like her not to make sure Jess had left. She went to see what was up. As she walked out her bedroom she noticed a light coming from the living room. The television was on and Lorelai was asleep on the couch. Relieved, Rory turned the television off, pulled a quilt over her mom and went back to her room. She changed into her cake pajamas and lay down on her bed. She tried to fall asleep, but her thoughts were on Jess. She remembered listening to the sound his voice when he read to her. It was rather soothing.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Her heart skipped a beat, half-hoping and half-knowing it was Jess. She quickly got up and headed towards the window and carefully slid it open.

"Jess?" She said trying to calm her voice, not wanting to sound too eager. "Did you forget something?" 

He bent down to meet her face through the open window, gesturing that he wanted to come in again. 

"Do you have a death wish or something?" She joked. "Cuz I'm sure that can be arranged if my mom catches you in here."

"Just can't stay away." He said giving a flirtatious smirk. He looked at her bedtime attire. "Nice pjs."

"Jess… what is it?" She said impatiently. She didn't have time for this. Her mom could wake up at any moment. 

"Forgot somethin'," he replied, already making his way inside her room.

"Wha… Jess are you crazy?"

"Relax. Your mom's asleep."

"How do you know?"

"I saw through the window."

"Jess…"

"Geeze Rory, you must love my name because you've said it like four times in the last two minutes," he teased.

She smacked him lightly on his shoulder. "Shut up." 

He searched around her room and found what he was looking for on the floor next to her bed. It was a slim paper back book. He stuffed it in his back pocket. 

"You came all the way back here, just to get that… you know… I could've given it to you tomorrow."

"Couldn't sleep, needed something to read."

"But you have so many other books at Luke's."

"I wanted to finish this one." In all honesty, he just wanted to see her one more time.

"Oh."

"Ok." He said heading towards the open window. She unintentionally followed closely. 

He turned around and found her to be only a few inches away. They stared at each other. There was no awkwardness about it. He brought his hand close to the side of her face, tucking a piece of her hair that had fallen loosely around her face behind her ear, and then idly his finger tips lightly stroked the side of her cheek. Even through the night's darkness, he could see those sensational blue eyes staring up at him, seemingly begging him to do something. What that something was he didn't know. 

Realizing what he was doing, he pulled away. He swiftly maneuvered his way out the window, looked back and nodded at her, and made his way down the porch steps. 

She watched him until she could no longer see his silhouette. "Hookay." She said to no one. "That was… what the hell was that?"


	3. Be Mine

**`*~ These Are Days ~*` **

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily changing the storyline.

**'**~// Luke's Diner: Sunday Afternoon \\~**'**

The bells jingled as Rory entered the diner. Her eyes searched the room for a certain dark-haired boy who was in her bed last night. There was no sign of him. She walked to the counter where Luke was standing.

"Hi Luke," she greeted and sat down.

"Rory," he greeted back. "What can I get for you?" 

"The usual… oh but minus the rings. I'm not in the mood for onion rings today."

"How 'bout fries."

"Uh… yeah fries sound good."

"Okay." He said tearing the paper from the pad that he had just written down her order on and handed it to Caesar. "So. Your mom joining you today?"

"No, there was an incident at the Inn involving Sookie and risotto. Mom went to work early."

"Ah." He poured her a cup of coffee.

"Um… is Jess working today?"

"No, he has Sunday afternoons off."

"Oh…"

"He should be upstairs still if you want to catch him before he goes and does God knows what when he should be, heaven forbid… studying."

She smiled. 

"Maybe later I guess."

She noticed she was unconsciously fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist. It was the bracelet that Dean made for her. She was still wearing it even though she broke up with him a month ago. She had completely forgotten about it. She never thought to take it off. She untied it and slipped it into her pocket. 

"Hey," a familiar voice came from behind her. "I didn't take too long did I?"

"No, you're good," Rory smiled, turning to face her best friend taking a seat on the bar stool beside her.

"Mama actually let me out of Bible class early today."

"That's a first."

"That's what I thought too. So what was it you needed to talk about," she asked with a hint of concern in her voice. "It sounded important."

Rory glanced at her watch. "Lane, its eleven thirty, doesn't Bible class start at eight and end at eleven?"

They both looked up when Luke placed the plate of Rory's cheeseburger and fries in front of her.

"Yeah, eleven o'clock Mama Kim time, meaning twelve o'clock our time. So technically I'm thirty minutes early… our time," she reminded.

"Oh… right, how could I forget?" She watched Lane eyeing her cheeseburger, asking for permission without actually asking. 

"Go ahead. I'm not that hungry anyways," she offered, pushing the plate towards her.

"Thank you." Lane took a huge bite off the burger and continued to speak with her mouth full. "Sooo… tell me," she mumbled. She was starving for something with meat in it and she didn't care to practice table manners at the moment. 

Rory rehashed the events of last night, without leaving any minor details untold. Lane listened ever so intently with numerous replies of 'oh my gods' and jaw drop actions. She was the perfect listener. 

"… and then he kinda stroked my cheek after he did the whole moving the hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ears thing," she said reenacting it on Lane.

"Wow, how very cheesy romance novel-esque of him. Didn't know bad boy had it in him."

"I know. It's weird. I never pegged him as that type… but I think he realized it too because he practically flew out of my window," she said giggling.

"Sooo… do you think you guys will-"

"Hey not so loud… there're prying ears in this diner," she said, reminding Lane where they were at. The diner was the quintessential place to hear and spread new gossip. 

"Right… sorry… sooo?" She said bringing her voice lower just above a whisper.

"I don't know… it's just so weird, you know… me and Jess," she replied, mimicking Lane's tone of voice. "Maybe he was just having one of those out of body experiences when he did that. I mean it was kind of late, maybe he was sleep walking or something… I don't know," she knew it was a ridiculous notion, but she couldn't think of a justifiable excuse for Jess' temporary insanity.

"Rory… for a smart girl… you are so oblivious. That boy likes you. I can tell by the way he looks at you, like he's trying to memorize your face," imitating Jess by moving her eyes crazily over Rory's face, over exaggerating.

"Shut up." She paused to think. "You really think so?" Hope sketched her face at the prospect of said boy liking her.

Lane's eyes suddenly focused on someone walking behind Rory. She focused back on Rory, subtly signaling that the person they were just speaking about was approaching. Knowing exactly who Lane was referring to, she casually turned in the opposite direction of her friend. And there he was. He was heading her way. Their eyes connected. He acknowledged her presence with his infamous Jess nod, but didn't stop to chat. He headed straight for the door. A little disappointed, Rory turned back to Lane.

Rory just smiled, not knowing what to say. 

"My fault. He saw me sitting here and probably didn't want to interrupt. Don't worry… you guys have plenty of time to decipher what happened last night." She said and took another huge bite out of the cheeseburger. 

"What? I don't want to decipher anything… with him. That's not something we would talk about. It's too weird. We're just friends."

"Well I didn't know friends go around stroking each others face… but if that's how you guys work… more power to you." Lane teased.

"Lane." Rory rolled her eyes and laughed. "We _are just friends. It would be too complicated if we were more."_

"How so?"

Rory didn't know the answer. She just figured it would be. Rory shrugged. "I don't know."

"Rory… my oblivious best friend whom I love more than _most of my cd's," joking of course, "… the boy is head over heals in love with you."_

"He does not _love_ me." Rory objected.

"Okay, maybe not so much _love_ you, but he's definitely head over heals in _like_ with you."

Rory laughed at her crazy friend.

"Whatever," she replied, disbelieving the idea.

"Hey, I've gotta get back home. Mama's expecting me for lunch. She's trying yet another recipe using tofu." She hopped off her stool and called out "call me later!" as she walked out the diner.

"Bye Lane."

Just as Lane rushed out, Dean was walking in. He spotted Rory sitting at the counter and walked up to her. Lane thought about going back in to see if everything was alright, but she knew Rory could handle it and went home.

"Luke… I think I'll have those rings now. " She wasn't in the mood for fries anymore. 

"Hey." 

She turned to see Dean occupying the same stool Lane had just left. "Oh… Dean… hey. Hh how are you?" She stuttered.

"I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm… good too." 

"Good… good." 

The first two weeks after their break up, Dean tried just about everything to get her back. He bought her flowers and candy, wrote her notes asking for forgiveness. He even stooped so low that he actually groveled. He didn't care how stupid he looked or sounded. He just wanted Rory back. But by the third week, Rory had made it abundantly clear that they were over, and Dean finally accepted it. She offered him her friendship and nothing more. It was something that he would have to get used to. Rory held a very big part of him and it was extremely painful for him when she didn't want it anymore. Friendship would have to do. By the fourth week, they tried casually hanging out once, doing friend type-type things… and he found that it was too awkward and too difficult for him. He hated that he couldn't touch her or kiss her when he wanted to. She was no longer his. They haven't hung out since. 

 "So what's up?" She asked. It was a general question. No harm. No foul.

"Uh nothing… Taylor said I could take a break so I figured I might as well grab a bite to eat and then I saw you sitting here and I wanted to say hey."

"Mission accomplished," she offered a smile, hoping that he didn't take what she had just said as harsh.

"Right. Mission accomplished." He looked uneasy.

"I… I didn't mean for it to sound so-"

"No. It's okay." He forced a smile. 

They both watched Luke set down a plate of onion rings in front of Rory.

Dean eyed the rings. She smiled. "Sorry bucko, these are mine. You're gonna have to get your own." He laughed at her as she claimed her plate. He ordered his own.

They sat eating and talking comfortably. A pastime they enjoyed when they were boyfriend and girlfriend. The diner doors' bells jingled, indicating a newcomer. Rory had a sense that it was Jess. And it was. She caught and held his gaze as he neared her. Again he nodded his nod and continued walking upstairs. She felt awkward, like she was doing something wrong by sitting and eating… and talking with her ex-boyfriend. Part of her wished Dean never sat down… maybe because she didn't want Jess to get the wrong idea. Not that he would even think anything of it. 

When Jess walked in and saw the two of them laughing together, he would admit that it took him by surprise. But he wouldn't admit that he was a little disappointed and just a tad jealous. Okay… so what… he was more than a tad jealous. First Jess instinct was to play it cool, so he just nodded addressing her presence and went about his business. 

Dean didn't fail to notice the exchange between the two. It disgusted him every time. He had yet to get used to seeing them hang out and they had been hanging out a lot lately. And he couldn't go anywhere without seeing them… together… laughing… playfully arguing… talking… reading… and looking at each other with that _look_. They were everywhere these days. One might expect him to be over her since she made it sickeningly obvious that she was over him. But it was Rory. Rory used to be his. She was a girl that was hard to get over.

"Well. I better get back to work. I'll talk to you later?" It was an empty question. This would most likely be the last time they would eat together.

"Uh yeah, bye Dean."

"Hey Luke?" She glanced upstairs. 

Luke turned his attention from the broken toaster to Rory. "Yeah?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any gum by any chance?"

"Uh," he patted his chest pocket, "actually I do." He reached into his shirt pocket, retrieving the pack of gum. 

"Onion rings… wouldn't want to offend anyone," she smiled sweetly, taking a piece from the pack.

 "Um…," she unwrapped the silver foil wrapping, revealing her breath saver and popped it in her mouth, "would it be alright if I go upstairs?"

"Sure go on up."

"Thanks Luke."

She smiled at him again and journeyed upstairs. 

She knocked on the door. There was no answer. Jess' music was blaring so she figured he probably couldn't hear her knocking, so she took it upon herself and invited herself in.


	4. Joanie Loves Chachi

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

Rory walked in on Jess in the process of putting his shirt on with his back towards her. She felt her cheeks grow a little hot and quickly thought about running back downstairs. 

"Rory," he greeted her after turning down the music. 

_Damn._

He wondered how long she had been standing there. "Have you been here long?" He asked pointing to her frozen position in the doorway.

"Oh… no. No. I just walked in. Just now." She babbled. 

He liked when she got all flustered. Her pale cheeks color with a beautiful shade of pink and her eyes seem to get bluer. 

He smiled at her, easing her embarrassment. He assumed she caught him shirtless. _Was Rory that innocent? _Or maybe that was just Rory being Rory. She was cute nonetheless.

He must have just gotten out of the shower because his hair was damp and he smelled clean. She watched as he put his socks on, and then walk towards the fridge. He took something out. 

He turned to her to and saw that she was still standing in the doorway. He smiled at her silliness. 

"Coming in?"

"Oh…" She would've hit herself upside the head if she could. 

"You want one?" He offered her a can of Red bull. 

"Yeah, I've never tried it before." Her mouth grew little dry from the sight of seeing Jess without a shirt. Even though it was just his back… but what a back it was. 

"It'll probably do nothing for you since you're already a caffeine freak." He teased.

"Thank you, I appreciate that." She smiled sweetly as they both took a seat at either end of the table.

He liked that about her… how she can be so proud of her own crazy addictions.

He shook his head at her. "It'd be like drinking water. You drink like what… a total of ten cups of coffee a day?" He joked.

"No… only six." She said matter-of-factly. 

His smile suddenly turned into a frown, remembering seeing her and Dean together downstairs, being _friendly_. 

"So, you and Dean back together?" He asked casually. Cursing himself inside, he couldn't believe that just came out of his mouth.

"What?" She was a little surprised. That question came from nowhere.

"You and Dean. Are you back together?" He managed to ask evenly. He couldn't help himself, he had to know. 

"No, why would you think that?" 

"No reason." He replied. He stood up and walked over to his dresser. His face remained unreadable as he put his Nixon watch on. 

"Jess…," she walked up to him, "tell me." For some freakish reason she wanted him to give her some kind of indication that he didn't like seeing her with Dean. Any indication to prove that what Lane said earlier was true. 

"It's nothing'… I just wasn't aware that you and Dean were chummy again." 

"We haven't been chummy… we aren't chummy." She felt the need to explain. "He just came in the diner to get something to eat on his break and he saw me sitting at the counter and the next thing I know he's sitting, having lunch with me."

He smiled. "Rory you don't have to explain-"

"I'm not explaining." She quickly disagreed. "I was just letting you know… if you cared to know… that we… that Dean and I aren't chums."

"Okay." He nodded. 

"We were just having a simple 'hi, how are you' type of conversation." 

"Okay." He nodded again. It was music to his ears. He needed that clarification. 

They were silent for a while, neither knowing what to say next. Both found it difficult to look at the other. Rory awkwardly gazed down at the floor and anything else before meeting his eyes again. 

The feelings of wanting to kiss Rory seeped into his veins. It was something that had happened quite frequently as of late. He would never act upon it… yet anyway. She had this aura about her that was so angelic and innocent. He didn't want to taint her. Plus, there was that little known fact that she had recently broke it off with her boyfriend of two years. She probably didn't want to jump into another relationship so soon. Much less with him. 

She caught herself looking at his lips, loving the way he smiled that crooked smile. 

"So… were you going somewhere?" Rory questioned, hating the uncomfortable silence and hoping he didn't notice her staring at his lips for too long.

"Yeah."

Rory couldn't help but look disappointed and when she caught herself, she played it off with a smile. But Jess saw it. 

"You wanna come with?" He asked, putting his sneakers on. 

"Oh... um, yeah okay. Where were you going?" She asked, following him out the door to the apartment.

"Down to that new music store they just opened up."

"Oh, I've heard about it, from Lane actually. She said they've got some pretty cool stuff in there."

"Really?"

"Yeah… she went on about these drums she saw. She was completely enamored by them. She had one of those revelations where she saw the drums and they were surrounded by this bright heavenly bright and you hear those angelic voices singing "Ahhh". And that's when she knew she was destined to be a drummer. 

"Huh. What about her mom?"

"That was my first thought too, but we're talking about Lane here. When she sets her mind on something, she can certainly find ways to get what she wants. She even went so far as to strike a deal with Sophie, the owner of the music store. She's letting Lane secretly practice the drums there on Wednesday and Friday nights and in turn Lane will be at Sophie's beck and call. Kind of earning her keep. Her mom would never allow, much less buy Lane drums. She thinks that all music, with the exception of Christian music of course, is the root of all evil."

"Huh. I thought your mom said I was." He half-joked.

Rory shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Give her time Jess." She said in all seriousness. 

Her mom did need time. She needed time to lessen the hate for Jess breaking her daughter. 

He saw the sincerity in her eyes. She had ways of making him feel _good_ with the simplest gestures. It was nice. "Think I should turn on the charm?"

"Ha. I don't think so. Not yet anyway. Your charm is… one of a kind. Not for the light-hearted." 

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" He said, mocking an offended look. 

They stopped short by the counter.

"I'm out." He told Luke.

"Wait Jess."

"What?" Jess never failed to use his annoyed tone when talking to Luke. 

"I need you to work the dinner crowd tonight-"

"It's Sunday Luke… my only day of rest." He mocked.

"Jess."

"I have plans."

"Doing what? Taking the balls out of the computer mouses at school."

Jess' eyes opened wide, seriously contemplating that idea.

"Jess." Luke warned, pointing to Jess with a deadly finger. 

"Plural… computer mice." He corrected.

"What?" Luke had little patience for this kid.

"Mouse singular form. Mice plural form. Therefore, not computer _mouses_, but computer mice."

Luke ignored him. "Be back by five. Caesar has to leave early."

"**Fine**." He called out. He and Rory already out of the diner.

They had an unspoken agreement to take the long route to the music store.

"Why do you talk to Luke like that? I mean… you're so sarcastic towards him."

"Look Rory. Luke and I have a completely different relationship from what you and your mom have. It's how we operate." He smiled at her. "This is how we show our love." He mocked.

She smiled doubtfully.

"Deep down, he loves my sarcastic wit…," he leaned in closer to her, "just like you." His smile was evil. He was teasing her.

She rolled her eyes at him and shoved him away from her. 

He fell back in to step with her again. 

**'**~// Back at the diner later that day \\~**'**

Rory was sitting at a table in the corner reading, waiting for Lorelai to get off work so they could have dinner together. Jess decided to take a short break and pulled up a chair across from her. 

"So… how's the book."

"It's reeally, reeally good." 

"That good huh." He enjoyed watching her read, she always looked so content.

"Yup, I'll let you borrow it when I'm finished." She said, not needing to look up from her book.

The diner bells jingled and they both looked up to see Lorelai walking in.

"Well, this was fun.... " They both smiled at each other as he got up and Lorelai sat down. "Good evening Lorelai, can I get you some coffee?" He said in a smart ass way.

"Do you even have to ask?" Lorelai glared.

She stared at her creation sitting next to her. "So… I didn't get to talk to you this morning." She looked closely at Rory. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" She questioned warily.

"No." 

"Huh… are you sure? I mean think reeally hard."

"Um… no, I'm sure."

"Okay."

Jess brought their usual orders over. They ate in silence, with Lorelai looking at her daughter skeptically. She put her fork down. 

"So Joanie, what time did Chachi leave last night?" She asked abruptly using her stern voice. 

"What?" She said guiltily, she knew the jig was up. 

"I fell asleep on the couch last night and I wasn't able to boot Jess out. What time did he leave, and don't fib me missy, I know all and see all."

"Okay, okay… we fell asleep when he was reading to me."

"Uh-huh… " She pressed, still waiting to hear what she didn't want to hear.

"He left around three thirty."

"Rory! You cannot have the resident bad boy sleeping in your bed at three o'clock in the morning."

"I know… it was an accident. I'm sorry." 

There were a few minutes of contemplative silence.

"Are you having sex with Jess?"

"Mom!"

"Hey. It's a valid question."

"I'm not even dating him. How can you ask that?"  
  


"Okay… I admit that was a little uncalled for. But Rory, I have the right to ask. You two slept together in the same bed. _Jess was in your bed… with _you_ in it."_

"I told you, we fell asleep reading. We didn't plan it."

"Alright."

"You know I wouldn't-"

"I know."

"Then how could you ask that?"

"I was going on motherly instinct. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

"Okay."

"Okay… so we're good."

"We're good." Lorelai confirmed. She petted Rory on the top of her head. "Just don't let it happen again."

"Promise. So how'd it go with Sookie and the risotto?"

"Sookie's in the hospital."

"What?! Is she alright?" She said fearfully.

"Yeah babe, she's gonna be fine, just some minor burns on her hand."

"Oh my god, what happened?"

"Somehow her hand got stuck in a pot of risotto…" They shared the same confused look. "Yeah, I'll never figure that one out."

They talked about the usual stuff until they fell into a comfortable silence.

"So… Jess was reading to you?" Lorelai said sweetly slightly tilting her head a little.

"Mom," she groaned.

"What… that's so cute. I didn't know Jess had it in him."

"Wow... deja vu." 

"Huh?"

"Oh nothing... it's just that apparently Jess has this hidden 'sweet guy' mentality that's slowly leaking out. I'm not so sure he's gonna like that." 

"Ooo, oo, can I be the first to break it to him." She said jumping in her seat like a four year old.

"Mom."

"I promise I'll be gentle." Rory gave her a withering stare. "Okay, nixing the telling Jess idea." She said with her hands in mid surrender stance. "So daughter, what's going on between you two?"

"Nothing." She said guardedly.

"Uh-huh."

"What… we're just friends… good friends." She added, happy at the thought.

"Not the 'good friends with benefits' I hope." She narrowed her eyes playfully at Rory.

"Mom." She said defensively.

"Ok, ok… I'm done picking on you… for today anyway." Lorelai ragged.


	5. Peer Pressure & Ben Kweller

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

**`**~// Chilton: A Month Later – April 4, Thursday Morning \\~**'**

Rory, along with Paris and her entourage Madeline and Louise were walking through the Chilton grounds headed towards the building that held their first morning class. Paris was ranting as usual when Louise rudely interrupted her with her latest guy-dar alert. 

"Ooo hot guy at ten o'clock?" Louise purred. All three heads turned in the direction of Louise's and onto the guy seated on a bench in front of the building. He wasn't wearing a Chilton uniform.

"Mmm." Madeline hummed, also appreciating the sight of said hot guy.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Paris asked in her regular annoyed voice. She remembered him being the reason why she did the unfathomable thing in saving Rory from Dean's jealous frenzy. She covered for her by lying to Dean about what he was doing at her house. She told him that she liked him and Rory was trying to set them up.

"Oh my god…," a pleased smile quickly emerged on Rory's face as she left the gawking trio and walked up to him.

"Jess, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in school mister?" She asked suspiciously with a smile still planted on her face.

He looked up from his book and into her cerulean blue eyes. "Why Rory, fancy meeting you here," he pretended. 

She smiled at him. "Come on. What are you doing here?" She fished, excitedly awaiting his answer.

"I came to rescue you." He said simply.

"How very knightly of you… but I don't need rescuing… I _like school remember?"_

"A mere technicality. I wanna take you somewhere."

"What? Jess… I have to get to class… I need to learn…," she said as she motioned toward the building.

"Aw, come on Roorrry… you already know everything you need to know. One day away from learning can't hurt. Come on." He insisted, disregarding what she said. His eyes twinkled for her in a feeble attempt to get her to accept his offer.

"Has anyone ever told you that peer pressure is very becoming on you?" She loved that look he always gave her when he wanted her to do something they weren't supposed to be doing.

"Nope, can't say anyone has…," he looked as though he was in deep thought and continued, "Huh, I'll have to remember that for next time," giving her a devilish grin.

"You are a funny, funny boy." She laughed as he stood up in front of her.

"Look… I'll even make it worth your while… I'll buy you any book you want." _There was no way she could resist a new book._

Her eyes widened.

"And… you can have all the coffee your big heart desires." He enticed.

She looked at him approvingly. _One day away from school can't hurt. She didn't have any tests that day and she could always get notes from Paris. Her notes were more elaborate than the teacher's. "Fine," she said finally but easily giving in. "Where are you taking me?" _

"Huh… that was easier that I imagined." They walked in the direction leaving the school grounds. "Okay." He casually draped his arm around her shoulder. "Follow me." 

She was a little surprised by his gesture, but she didn't want to make anything of it. It was a simple gesture on his part.

Over the past month, they have grown closer as friends. Even close enough to add a _best_ before friends. They spent many weekends hanging out and many school mornings eating breakfast together. Rory continued to tutor him or at least monitor him, making sure he was studying and doing his homework. Lorelai began to tolerate him. She even went so far as inducting him into the Gilmore movie night. She was finally beginning to see the 'good guy' qualities Rory was so adamant about. She could also see something that Rory conveniently pushed to the back of her mind… Lorelai could see that Jess liked her… _really_ liked her.

Rory woke up from her nap to the sun's rays beaming outside the bus' window. She remembered where she was… on a bus to New York… with Jess. Her head was on his chest and she felt his arm around her waist with his hand resting on her upper thigh. His other arm was rested on the sill of the window using his hand to cushion his head, and he had one leg cocked up on the side arm of the seat in front of him. She smiled to herself as she listened to the steady beat of his heart and fell asleep again. A half hour later, Jess awoke to feeling Rory snuggled closely to him. She must have been cold because she unknowingly snuck her hands inside his jacket. The initial shock of her icy hands made him jerk a little, but soon warmed up to her touch. 

As the driver announced their destination, he softly nudged her to wake her up.

She felt his warm breath in her ear along with his gentle voice coming soon after. "Rory…," he watched as she stirred, "we're here." He whispered , not missing the sweet scent of her shampoo. She slowly opened her eyes and started to stretch. He watched her so intently. _She's so pretty. He must have been staring a little too hard because his thoughts were interrupted by a "what" from Rory._

"Nothin'," he said cleverly, "You ready to go?" He asked clearly trying to escape embarrassment.

"Yup." She said as she stretched one last time.

They spent most of the day in Washington Square Park and as promised Rory got the book of her choice and lots and lots of yummy coffee. He bought them lunch at a local hot dog stand where he used to eat when he lived in New York. They read for a while in the park and discussed and argued about things they read and afterwards he took her to a music store where Rory found a signed GoGo's album for her mother's graduation present. Their day had to come to an end so they wouldn't miss Lorelai's graduation. 

**`**~// ****Hartford****: Lorelai's Graduation – Thursday Night \\~**'**

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore." Lorelai walked up to the stage to receive her diploma and took immense pleasure in hearing Sookie, Lane, and Rory hollering incomprehensible cheers for her. Luke and Jess slightly sank in their chairs embarrassed by the ruckus coming from the three crazy females next to them. Even Emily had joined the three. Lorelai was thoroughly delighted that her mother showed that she could be crass too. She knew she inherited that trait from her mother. Richard was quite surprised by his wife's outbursts.

As the ceremony came to a close, they all met up with their graduate, giving her their hugs, congrats, and presents. 

**`**~// Later at Luke's Diner \\~**`**

 Luke had closed the diner early leaving himself, Jess, Lorelai, and Rory seated at a table finishing up their pie.  

"Hey Rory… I've got a new cd that you should check out. It's upstairs." Jess then looked at Lorelai. "We won't be long."

Rory looked at her mom for unneeded permission. But she felt that this was her mom's day and Rory wanted it to be all about her. 

Lorelai nodded approvingly and they went upstairs to Jess' new bedroom. 

"I like what you've done to you room," she taunted, as she looked around the room filled with open boxes that were still full. He smirked at her. Rory sat on his bed as Jess sifted through his stash of cds. Somehow he had misplaced what he had wanted to show her and started to search through the boxes. 

Out of nowhere, Jess was standing in front of her. He gently lifted her to a standing position. Taking her completely by surprise, he slowly backed her up against the wall and placed one hand leaning on wall and the other on her hip. He inched his lips towards hers…  "Rory… Roorrrry," his voice sang. "Hey," he said waving his hand in front of her face.

"Huh…," she said a little too breathy.

"You were staring off into space… you alright?" He tried to read her but to no avail.

"O oh … yeah.  I'm fine," she stuttered looking a little flushed.

"You sure, 'cuz you're looking kinda pale?" He asked narrowing his eyes at her noting her complexion. 

"Yeah, I was just thinking about all the homework I have yet to do and I just realized that I forgot to do my Lit book at school," she lied.

"Huh… well… here's that cd," he decided not to press it and handed the cd to her.

She couldn't explain these thoughts that would infest her mind at the most inopportune times. And yes, that wasn't the first time she had thought about them like that. It was wrong of her to think of her best friend that way. It was wrong. She duped herself into thinking that it was a one-sided attraction. 

"You ready to go back down." He said motioning towards the door.

"Yeah." Still a little flushed.

**`**~// Gilmore Home – Friday Morning \\~**'**

Lorelai was at the kitchen table eating her Rice Krispies cereal with her own added marshmallows when a very sleepy Rory lazily slid towards the bathroom.

"Hun… did you not sleep well last night?" She said taking in her daughters disheveled appearance. The only response she got was a soft grunt followed by a moan.

"Hookay." She heard the shower turn on and about a half an hour later Rory joined her mom at the kitchen table. She laid her head down on the table, tilting it so she could see her mom.

"Babe. You… don't… look so good," she said scrunching her face at her. "And I mean that in a nice way."

"I didn't sleep to well." 

"Hmm... tell mama what's wrong," she said lightheartedly while rubbing her back, trying to soothe her.

She couldn't possibly tell her mom the reason why she was having trouble sleeping. That she couldn't sleep because of _him. Jess consumed her thoughts and dreams. And she couldn't shake it. Her feelings were so strong that they could no longer be brushed aside. They were here to stay._

"I think I must have eaten something bad last night from the restaurant that grandma and grandpa took us to," she lied. She had been lying a lot lately.

"Aw…," still rubbing her back as she kissed her on the head. "Here…," she lifted her up and helped her over to the couch in the living room. "Today you are staying home from school. You will do no homework of any kind. You will just sit here and vegg out in front of the TV, or if you want you can read a book… not related to school of course." She ordered. "I will call school and let them know that you've got some kind of contagious bug. And when I get off from work, early mind you, I'll rent a movie and we'll order pizza. How's that sound?"

"Mom?

"Huh?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"No?" She said in question form, but knowing exactly what she was getting at.

"It's Friday," she hinted. Lorelai offered a confused expression pretending not to know what she was talking about. "Dinner with the grandparents?"

"Well… I'll give them a call too and explain to them that you are ill and I need to stay home and take care of you. Thus entitling us to a fun-filled night filled with junk food and movie mocking." She hesitated before she continued. "You can even call Jess to join us. That little punk is starting to grow on me." They shared a smile.

Rory thought about the whole staying home idea but decided against it. She couldn't miss school again. 

"Although that sounds extremely tempting right now… I think I should go to school, but I will take you up on skipping dinner with the grandparents."

"Really... you're not just saying that to be mean to mommy are you?" 

Rory nodded her head no. 

"Eee! Yay! No dinner with the grandparents!" Lorelai squealed hugging her daughter and then danced around. "Have I told you that you are my favorite daughter?"

Rory wasted no time in getting home from school. She was really tired from the lack of sleep she had the night before. When she got home she called Jess and informed him of the night's proceedings then went straight to the couch and fell asleep, still in her uniform.

A little after six o'clock, Rory's sleep was disturbed by the phone ringing.

"Hello," her voice a little groggy.

"Hey sweets… did I wake you?" She asked apologetically.

"Yeah, but I needed to get up anyway." She said looking at the clock.

"So how are you feeling?"

"Better." She finally got a decent amount of sleep… Jess free.

"Good, then I won't feel so guilty about changing tonight's plans if that's alright with you."

"Why, what's going on?" She said a little disappointed.

"Well, I sort of… forgot that I… promised Sookie we'd go over her wedding stuff tonight."

"Oh… well… that's okay. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better. Completely refreshed."

"… is Jess keeping you company tonight?" She asked already knowing the answer. Jess would never skip out on movie night or for that matter… a chance to spend time with Rory.

"Um, yeah he said he'd come."

"Good. Well… give him a call back and tell him to rent a movie for you guys."

"Ok."

"Alright sweetie, I'll try and be home as soon as I can."

"Ok. Bye mom."

"Bye babe."

She called Jess to let him know of the change of plans. After watching the tube for a bit, Rory finally got up and freshened up for Jess' arrival. He said he'd be there around seven and it was now six forty-five. She walked into her room, blasted her radio- she loved the perks of being home alone.

As Rory was deciding on what to wear for the evening, she sang loudly along with the chorus of Ben Kweller's 'Little Pink Stars.' She even took a moment to bop around her room, unaware of the prying eyes behind her. 

He could no longer conceal the huge smile over-powering his mouth, never thought to ever be seen on him. He rang the doorbell earlier and knocked on the door, but she never came. He knew they never locked the doors, so he invited himself in. He heard the loud music coming from her bedroom. And to his delightful surprise she left her bedroom door open…_wide open. He saw the whole show and thoroughly enjoyed every entertaining bit of it. When the song was over, within the silent seconds before the next song played, she heard a shuffling noise coming from behind her. She quickly turned around and was mortified at seeing Jess staring at her with the biggest Cheshire grin on his face. _

She turned red in a matter 0.25 seconds. 

_Somebody shoot me… please? _


	6. A Qualified Monumental Embarassment

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

"Rory… Rory…," He pleaded struggling to hold in his laugh. He wanted her to stop hiding behind her hands.

"I hate you." She mumbled, hands still covering her face. This was a monumental embarrassment, one that she would haunt her for the rest of her life, one that she could add to her ever-growing list of monumental embarrassments. This was up there with the time that she ran around the house naked. She was six years old at the time and her mom and Luke walked in the house and saw little Rory running up the stairs… butt-naked. She was completely mortified. She couldn't step foot in the diner for almost a month. To this day, she still can't figure out what possessed her to do such a thing. So yeah… this moment would constitute a place on her list. _It was truly embarrassing_. 

He walked up to her. "Come on Rory. Don't be embarrassed… I didn't see a thing," he said trying to stifle a laugh.

She peeked at him through her opened fingers and when saw the big fat smirk plastered on his face she closed her fingers again. "You are such a bad liar… I soo loathe you right now."

"You do not."

"Yes. I do." She wailed.

"You could never hate me."

"I can too… I'm hating you right now aren't I?"

He attempted to remove her hands away from her face and when he did she shut her eyes so she didn't have to look at him. Rory was twenty different shades of red and he amazed himself at how much this appealed to him and the feelings of wanting to kiss her swarmed his mind. He wet his lips unconsciously when he saw how pink hers were. They looked ripe enough for kissing - very pouty. 

"Rory, would you open your eyes."

"No." She said in a little girl way.

"Please." No response. He tried a new tactic. He started to tickle her.

"Hey! Stop!" She ran behind her bed to get away from him, holding Colonel Clucker in front of her for protection. "Okay, I'm finished being embarrassed."

"Ha ha, I knew that would work."

She walked passed him to her dresser. "I despise you," she scoffed finding some navy sweat pants and a gray baby-tee.

"Hey, I was just an innocent bystander enjoying a show." He defended.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I thought you said you _didn't see a thing?" She questioned, she knew deep down that he lied._

"Ok… so I lied… it was a great show by the way." He teased.

"Go home." 

"What… alright I'll stop. I'm sorry… will you forgive me?" He asked, his crooked lips pouting sweetly at her.

"That face is not going to work this time."

"Please Rory, can I stay?" He asked batting his eyes at her, his pout perfected. "I promise I'll be good for the rest of the night."

"Fine, you can stay! But you better be good." She playfully narrowed her eyes at him when she passed him on her way to the bathroom. He followed.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked suspiciously, stopping in mid stride. 

"I didn't want to miss the next show." He said faking seriousness leaning against the entrance of the bathroom.

"Jess!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Geeze, don't get you're panties in a bunch." 

She glared at him. "Guess what we're having for dinner?"

He knew it was coming. 

"Indian food," and with that said she slammed the door in his face.

"Ah, come on Rory. You specifically told me we could have Thai tonight." 

"I lied."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

_Ya__ gotta love this girl._ She's so easily rattled and he liked baiting her. He remembered the look on her face at the comment he made. _Priceless_. He loved it. 

He waited for her to come out leaning sideways against the wall with his arms folded. She opened the door and as she walked out she jumped at seeing Jess still there.

"God!" She shrieked hitting him playfully on his arm. 

"Sorry." He apologized, holding his hands up, walking into the bathroom still facing her. "Was waiting for the bathroom." He said nonchanlantly but was laughing on the inside.

"I hate you." She scrunched her face at him.

He closed the door and said loudly, "you don't hate me."

She shook her head. _Nope. I sure don't._ She loved the way he played around with her. 

**'**~// A Little While Later \\~**'**

They finished up their dinner and went into the living room to watch the movie. Jess popped the movie into the dvd player while Rory laid down- hogging the whole couch.

"Reeally funny Rory," he snickered at her when he turned around and saw her current position.

"What?" She said innocently, giving him her doe eyes.

He went over to the couch, lifted her feet up and seated himself under them. The movie started.

"Aw… I've always wanted to rent this movie." She looked over at him. "I didn't know you were into anime."

"I'm not actually, but I heard great things about Princess Mononoke."

"Yeah, I love Claire Danes. I was so depressed when they canceled My So Called Life."

"Can't say that I've seen that." He stated.

"Great show."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup, it was one of the first teen dramas that were mildly believable. The storylines weren't too lame and the characters weren't sickeningly beautiful."

"Huh."

"It also helped market the whole flannel fashion of the 90's."

"I'm sure Luke was ecstatic."

They continued to watch the movie.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Jess asked mischievously.

"What?"

"Are you… _ticklish_?"

"No." She tried to lied, but he could tell. She saw that he didn't believe her and tried to move her feet away, but it was too late. He beat her to it and grabbed her by the ankles and tickled her feet.

"Aahh! Stop it!" She screamed through her laughs. She wiggled around as he moved up over her and started tickling her on her sides. She desperately tried to cover herself with her arms. But Jess saw every opportunity and tickled it. "Jess! Pleease!" She laughed struggling to breath. He let up a little.

"Only if you tell me you don't hate me." He laughed.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I hate you!" She dared and he began tickling her again. "Aaahh! Ok, ok, **ok**!" He let up again, waiting for her to say it. "I don't hate you!" 

"That wasn't believable Rory." He sang.

"I don't hate you Jess."

There was something different in her eyes. He couldn't explain it. He stopped and sat over her, putting most of his weight on his knees, trying not to crush her. They were both silent, hearts pounding from all the laughing and squirming. He realized his current position and immediately got off of her. 

"We should…" He cleared his throat. "… watch the movie." Jess said trying to ignore that suggestive position. 

"Yeah… we should." She agreed, sitting up, straightening her clothes. 

**'**~// Hours Later \\~**' **

Lorelai opened the door and was overcome by a powerful smell. "Aah… Indian food."

It was about one thirty in the morning when she walked in and noticed Rory and Jess asleep on the couch. Jess was in the utmost uncomfortable sitting position, and knowing he wasn't going to enjoy the effects of it in the morning, she decided to wake him. 

"Jess… Jess," Lorelai said, tapping him.

"Mmm… huh." He opened his eyes a little to see who was disturbing his sleep.

"Hey sleepy head." She waved. "Hi… how ya doin'"

He looked confused not knowing where he was at. 

Lorelai could help but think how innocent and boyish he looked. "I'll tell you what… you can sleep over tonight… on the couch… because it's waay too late and too cold for you to walk home. I'll call Luke and let him know that you're staying. I'm sure he's worried."

"Mm," he closed his eyes and tried to get in a more comfortable position, resulting in him lying down next to Rory's hip.

"Oh no. No-no-no-no, **nooo****.** Nice try, wise guy." Pulling him off Rory, "Up."

"What?" He muttered harmlessly.

Rory started to wake. "Hey," Lorelai greeted her daughter, "I see you got over your stomach problem," her nose still not adjusted to the smell in the house. Rory grinned sleepily at her mom. "Come on, let's get you to bed." 

When she got up from the couch she saw Jess leaning over the arm of the couch with his eyes closed. Lorelai caught the panicked look on Rory's face. 

"It's okay. I told him he could sleep on the couch tonight." She thoughtfully smiled at her mom. Lorelai went to the linen closet, gathered a quilt and pillow and tossed it on him. "G'night Jess," she said, "I am going to remember your position tonight and tomorrow morning you will be in that same position. Now hurry up and find a comfortable spot for you will be forever frozen until I unfreeze you in the morning. Understood?" She sarcastically warned.

"Mmm…," he mumbled to her as he lay down on the couch, covering his whole body including his head with the quilt.

Both Lorelai and Rory went into their respective bedrooms. 

Rory changed into her pjs and slipped under her covers.

**'**~// Thirty Minutes Later \\~**'**

Jess got up to use the bathroom. When he finished, he found himself peering in Rory's bedroom. The door was half way open. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully, which explained why him jumped when she called out his name.

"Can't sleep?" She whispered.

"Nope… you?" Mimicking her tone.

"No."

She patted the bed. He took his cue and lay down next to her. They talked for a while about everything and anything. 

"You know my mom's going to mutilate you when she sees you in my bed in the morning."

"I'll take my chances, that couch is waay too uncomfortable to sleep on. I've already got a crick in my neck." He said, rubbing the said sore spot. "Besides, you'll still love me without my limbs."

"Don't count on it." She joked.

"Hey, that's not very nice," He replied, giving her his perfected pouty face.

She smiled at him. "Aw… did I hurt the bad boy's feelings?" He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Ok, are you all of a sudden four now?"

"Ha. Ha."

"Hey, you know what?

"Huh?"

"This is like having our own little sleep over. Can I put curlers in your hair and put some make up on you." She teased. "Ooh ooh and whoever falls asleep first gets their bra put in the freezer," she giggled.

Jess raised an eyebrow at her and suddenly she realized what she said, already feeling the effects of her embarrassment. She was thankful for the darkness- it hid her rosey cheeks.

"Yeah sure, and afterwards we can hold hands and skip." She nudged him in the ribs a little too hard. "**Ow. Okay that hurt."**

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She apologized and sat up to look at the spot where she hit him and on instinct she started to rub it." She was totally unaware of how this was affecting him.

"Rory… it's okay, you don't have to…," gently pushing her hand away, hoping she didn't notice how aroused he got. He didn't know what came over him. He blamed it on the morning hours.

She lay back down, completely oblivious.

She caught him off guard by asking him the eternal question: "Are you a virgin?"

He laughed, ruffling his hair to ease his uneasiness. "Wow. That was real blunt Rory. Where did that come from?"

"What? It's customary at sleepovers to ask each other personal things. So, are you a virgin and if not, how many?" She continued.

"Hey, not fair… you tweaked your original question." He laughed.

"Just answer the question Jess." She griped, not letting him get off so easily.

"Only if I get to ask you the same question too." He stalled.

"The answer's yes. I am a self-professed virgin. Now you," she spat out.

"Huh." 

"I don't see how you would think otherwise."

"Well, you and Dean were together for a long time, so I just figured you guys…"

"Nope. We didn't…"

"Huh." 

Jess thanked the higher powers of the earth that she didn't sleep with Dean. Deep down he knew she and Dean didn't have sex, but now that it was confirmed, he somehow felt relieved for some unknown reason.

"It just… it was never…" She didn't continue. "Okay you're up."

"Ok…, it's kind of embarrassing. You're going to have to read between the lines here… I kinda am, but sorta not."

"What kind of an answer is that?" She questioned, incredulously.

"Question answered, let's move on."

"Whatever. **Spill**."

"Alright… but **no** laughing." 

"I promise. No laughing." She already started grinning.

Noticing it, "Hey, I'm holding you to that."

"What?" She said innocently trying to control her mouth's urge to curve.

"Ok, well I was at my girlfriend's parents' apartment and we were… you know… making out in her parent's bedroom."

"Was her name Jen Lindley?" 

"What?" He asked totally confused.

She smiled at her own joke. "Nothing, continue." 

"Anyway, one thing led to another and I was in position, and just when I was barely in, her dad walked in on us and well… there it is… I kinda am, but sorta not."

Rory could no longer suppress a laugh and just busted on him.

"Hey, you promised!" He exclaimed, playfully pointing a finger at her.

"What?" She cried in between laughs. "You have to admit, that was too funny and totally deserved to be laughed at."

"You're being mean again." He said boyishly, flashing her his pouty face again.

"Okay, okay… done laughing now." Still slightly laughing, half a minute later, "Okay, okay. Now I'm done… so you never had a second opportunity?" She asked.

"Nope, her parents shipped her off to some place, they wouldn't tell me and I never heard from her again."

"Aw, that's so sad. How long were you with her?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." 

"How long Jess?" 

"About a year."

"No way," she said in total disbelief.

"Yup… why are you smiling like that?"

"I just never thought of you as a one girl kinda guy," she replied, loving this new found information.

"I never cease to amaze you do I?" He joked.

"No… you don't." She said seriously.


	7. Oh My God!

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

"Rory." Jess whispered.

She didn't answer and he assumed she was already asleep. They've been talking endlessly for a couple hours and during the silent pauses in their conversation, Rory slowly grew sleepy. She finally couldn't fight it anymore and welcomed the great slumber. 

Once again Jess found himself in another somewhat intimate night with Rory. How he ever ended up in these situations were beyond him- to be this close to a girl whom he had honest feelings for. He was going to milk this opportunity to the fullest. Finally, he had a chance to actually feel her closeness without having to shy away at the slightest touch, to look at her without having to worry about who was watching. The last time he was with her in her bed like this, he was asleep- not able to study her and actually feel her next to him. With his elbow cushioned comfortably on a pillow, he rested his head on his hand so that he could watch her sleep. She looked so peaceful and so beautiful. He enjoyed being around her, especially like this. Basically because he was free to look at her without her knowing. She was so intelligent and smart… and very odd too. He laughed at the thought. He loved it all, the whole package… especially her quirkiness. 

He began to study her face- so innocent and flawless, her nose- small and cute, but he was drawn to her lips- those pouty lips. Her lips drove him crazy, partly because he yearned to kiss them every time he was close to her. If Rory only knew how he constantly thought about her. Was it wrong to think of her like this- being that they were just good friends? He couldn't help it, he really liked her. 

He didn't want to make a move in the beginning because she and Dean had just broken up. He wanted to give her some time, but if it was any other girl he would have already made his move. Except this was Rory, she wasn't just another girl. She was special; someone whom he had grown to deeply care about. It was only right to give her some time. But now, a month has passed since she called it quits with Dean and he didn't know what he was waiting for. Dean was finally out of the picture and he slowly wormed himself into her life. Exactly that, he wormed himself into her life somehow.

It still amazes him how she let him into her picture perfect life. She was too good for him. Maybe friendship should be all he should ask for. After all, their friendship was important to him, but he would never let anyone know that. She was the only one in this pleasantville town that saw him for who he was. She saw past his rebel image and gave him a chance. 

If she rejected his feelings he wouldn't know how to handle it. Not very likely of him because he led people to believe that nothing could phase him, but when it came to Rory… it was different- she had implanted herself in a part of him that he knew never existed. And he didn't want to lose that. If anything, if she felt anything towards him maybe she'd make the first move. 

He looked at her… not very likely. He didn't want to think about it anymore. All the different emotions he was feeling were very new to him and he didn't know whether he should hate them or welcome them.

The morning hours were beginning to take a toll on him. Trying to fight the urge to look at the rest of her, he found himself looking anyways. _What guy wouldn't?_ She slept in a fitted long-sleeved shirt and pj bottoms. Her breathing was hypnotizing and he started staring at the steady rise and fall of her chest and suddenly paid close attention to something he wasn't supposed to be looking at. 

Paying homage to the moon for the sufficient light-age in the room, he was able to see the slight rise of her nipples. He started to throb as NC-17 rated scenes with Rory played in his mind. He shook his head at himself and covered her with the quilts and lay back down with his hands entwined on his sternum. He took a breath, several breaths actually. He laughed at his raging-hormonal self and later sleep overtook him. 

**'**~// Saturday Morning \\~**'**

Lorelai gleefully bounced downstairs, welcoming the start of the weekend. Just when she was about to go into the kitchen, she did a double take of the living room. The couch was seemingly empty and Jess was nowhere to be found. 

"Huh." She assumed he must have gotten up early and decided to go home. 

She made her way to the kitchen and made a fresh pot of coffee. While she waited she sat down at the table and flipped through yesterday's mail. 

"Huh… look at that… all junk." She got up and tossed them in the garbage. She sat down again and began looking around the room for something… anything to keep her occupied. She couldn't find anything, so she stared at the coffee pot. It seemed to take forever for the elixir to brew. Dying of boredom, she started to drum her fingers on the table and even began humming a tune. She couldn't take it anymore; she was bored and lonely and in need of someone to play with. She got up and went to Rory's room to wake her up.

_What the hell? This is not happening._ "Boy, have you no shame?! What did I tell you last night?!" She said loudly, poking agitatedly at the boy sleeping extremely close to her only daughter. She was somewhat relieved that he was over the covers while Rory was fully under them and they had their backsides at each other. _This bed is waay too small. Mental note: Buy Rory a bigger bed… no wait… that can't be good either, drat… ok nix bigger bed._

Jess tried to shield himself from her manic poking. She was really digging into him. Rory started to wake and realized what was happening, "Mom it's okay," she said trying to calm her mother down.

"What?! Okay my ass!" She scoffed. She didn't mean for it to sound so harsh.

Rory grew a little nervous. Jess was finally sitting up with his feet on the floor, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

Seeing how uncomfortable Rory was, Lorelai tried to compose herself. She knew it was completely harmless or at least she hoped it was. "Okay you two, get up, we need to have a talk." She walked out of the room and waited for them in the kitchen, heavy in her own thoughts. She was formulating ways on how to handle the mutilation of Jess and more importantly what to say to the two. 

Jess looked at Rory and smiled, "Ooo somebody's in trouble." He said quietly.

She glared at him, "Yeah… when this is all over… at least I'll still have my limbs." She countered smiling sweetly.

After the two freshened up, they sat at the kitchen table watching Lorelai pace in front of them immersed in her own thoughts.

"Ok," as if she finally figured out what to say to them and sat down in front of them.

"I cannot have you guys sleeping together in the same bed, even though you guys were just sleeping… right guys?" She focused on them, looking each of them in the eyes trying to get some reassurance and when she got it she continued. "I mean, I know you two think you're just good friends casually sleeping in a bed together, big deal right?" 

She turned to look at Jess, "I mean I know I'm a cool mom and all," she half-joked, "but I just feel uncomfortable having you in my seventeen year old daughter's bed. Do you understand?" He nodded. "I need you to respect me on this. No more sleeping together, especially in her bed."

"Look, I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Jess apologized.

"I mean, I don't think I'll mind so much if you accidentally fall asleep on the couch together… but no bed. Understood?" She looked at both of them agreeing. "It just creeps me out a little."

"I'm really sorry mom." Rory added.

They sat in complete silence for five long agonizing minutes.

"Ok… let's go get some breakfast. All this drama is making me hungry," Lorelai said trying to alleviate the tension in the room.

**'**~// Luke's Diner \\~**'**

When they arrived at the diner, Jess kindly declined breakfast with the Gilmore's and went upstairs. The two girls took their seats near a window. Rory found herself staring out the window when suddenly something caught her eye across the street near the gazebo. It was Dean. He was talking and laughing with a pretty blonde. A twinge of jealousy hit, but quickly passed. She was happy for him. They had slowly drifted apart. It was just too weird being friends, besides they hardly talked anymore and for that matter they hardly hung out. She thought to herself that maybe it was her fault. She did spend most of her free time with Jess these days. 

Lorelai saw that her daughter's attention was focused on something outside. She looked too. Understanding, she gently rubbed her forearm. 

"So the town decided on having a pre-wedding bash for Sookie and Jackson next weekend." She informed.

"Really?" She loved the town's parties. "What kind of bash?"

"Kinda like the one Max and I had." It had come out so easily, but inside the hurt still lingered. "You know, music, dancing, insane amounts of cool presents and of course food… what's a bash without food?" She asked rhetorically.

Recovering from her own thoughts of Max, she simply offered a "Yeah." Rory felt the same as her mother. She really did want Max to be her step-father. "I bet it's going to be great. Sookie's catering her own bash isn't she?" She said with a hint of laughter.

"That she is."

**'**~// The Gilmore Home: A Week Later – April 13, Saturday Night \\~**'**

The weekend had gone by so fast. And the week that followed it went by even faster. Rory hadn't talked to Jess all week because she was too busy catching up from the one day she skipped school. She promised herself never to skip school ever again. She was sadly mistaken when she thought that she wouldn't have missed much. The teachers loaded the students with work and she wondered if they did it because they knew she was skipping. She even missed two pop quizzes that she won't be able to make up. If it wasn't for Paris being such an expert at note taking, she would have been completely lost.

Rory and her mother dressed up in their pretty party dresses. Rory spent a little extra time than normal dressing up for this bash. She secretly wanted to look good for Jess. She wore a light blue top that had only one strap with a slightly flippy sleeve. Her skirt had somewhat of a retro design to it that matched perfectly with the same flippies on the hem of it. She had her hair up in a loose, fairly messy bun that looked like it was from a picture in a magazine. She completed the outfit with a pair of silver strappy heels.

"Come on already!" Lorelai hollered from the living room. She had been sitting on the couch flipping through the same magazine for almost a half hour and she was getting antsy.

"Coming." She walked out of her bedroom and into the living room to join her mother.

Lorelai looked up at Rory. "Wow… hubba hubba." She said comically. 

"You really think so?" She asked and like a little girl she twirled in her dress letting the flippies flip.

"I should be a good mother and make you change."

"Mom," she groaned.

"Just kidding, you look great sweetie. Now be a good daughter and remember to send all the cute rejects my way." She teased.

"Whatever, let's go." She said in true Rory fashion and pulled her mom up from the couch.

"Maybe I should change into something skimpier… It's not fair. You're going to get all the guys tonight!" 

Rory dragged her mom out the front door. "Oh come on!"

**'**~// ****Stars Hollow Town Square****: Sookie and Jackson's Wedding Bash \\~**'**

Everyone in Stars Hollow was out that night celebrating the happy couple. There were even people from other towns there too. The night was perfect. The weather was beginning to warm up a little but left the nights airy and cool. From a passerby's point of view the town would have looked like a place that could only be imagined. These people evoked a worry free atmosphere that everyone dreamed they could be a part of.

Lorelai and Rory were at the food table where Sookie was arranging and rearranging dishes. 

"Wow Sookie… what a great turn out," Lorelai said taking in the sight around her.

"Yeah I know, isn't it fabulous? I don't even know half of these people," she giggled.

Rory was in her own little world discretely searching for Jess, when all of a sudden she saw a familiar blond over by the refreshments table. She could never forget that head of hair. She walked in his direction.

"Tristan?" 

He turned around.

"Rory." He was hoping he'd run into her.

"Oh my god, how are you?" She said taking him into a friendly hug and he in turn hugged her back. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be off at some military school?" She continued not giving him enough time in between her questions to answer them. "When did you get back? God, it's so great to see you."

"Well, well, well, I never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth Mary." He taunted. They both smiled. It didn't bother her when he called her that. When he left they were on fairly good terms. 

From afar, Jess caught the whole exchange. He saw her earlier at the food table and was about to walk up to her until she went over to some guy. He decided he'd catch up with her later and walked off in the other direction.

"I came back a week ago. Military school finishes up a month before regular schools."

"That explains why you're not at Chilton, so are you just visiting for the summer or… "

"My father thought it would be best to finish senior year at Chilton."

"Mommy and Daddy dearest missed you that much." She felt bad after she said that, it had come out sounding so wrong.

"Yeah, you know I'm just a miss-able guy."

"So what are you doing _here_… in Stars Hollow? I didn't know Sookie knew you."

"Well she doesn't. I'm sorta crashing." He said ruffing up the hair on the back of his head.

"Oh… well how did you hear about it?"

"Well, I know this guy from military school that lives in the next town over and he raved on and on about the food at these bashes, and well… I decided to check it out."

"Well don't let me keep you…" She started to back up, but he held her back when he placed his hand on her shoulder.  
  


"No don't go. Stay. Please, I mean… I don't know anyone here and I know you wouldn't want me wandering around aimlessly." 

"Um… yeah sure."

He looked around to find a place where they could go sit down and talk. "We can catch up." He said putting his arm around Rory and directed her towards a nearby unoccupied bench. "You look really great by the way." He said looking her up and down.

Rory looked down at her heels. "Thank you... so do you." He really did look great she thought. 

They sat and talked about what was going on in their lives, laughed at Chilton memories and rumors, and discussed college choices. 

Jess went around looking for Rory again. He hadn't seen her all night and more importantly hadn't talked to her. He missed talking to her, even though it had only been a week, she was the only one in this godforsaken town that he could carry an intelligent conversation with. Or at least she was the only one that he wanted to have an intelligent conversation with. 

"Hey, Jess?" 

**A/N:** Let me know what you think! To continue… or to not continue! Either way I think I'll continue… I've got a couple more chapters up my sleeves =)


	8. Clepto Girl

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

He must've not noticed the two sitting on the bench because he walked right passed them and that's when he heard Rory call out his name. He turned around to see her and her guy friend. She stood up and went over to him.

He looked her over and briefly studied her hair, her face and then her attire. He led his eyes back up to hers and stayed there for a moment before he spoke.

"You look nice." He told her sincerely. _She looks better than nice. She's fucking gorgeous._

She blushed slightly. "Thank you," trying to make the uneasiness disappear she responded with, "You don't look so bad yourself… oh hey, I want you to meet someone." She pulled him by the arm and ushered him towards Tristan, "Jess this is Tristan, he used to go to Chilton… remember I told you about him?" Jess nodded at him. 

"Why Mary, I didn't know I was worthy of you."

"Oh, believe me you're not." She stated simply with ease. He countered with a mock imitation of his heart breaking complete with a fake hurt look on his face.

Jess really wasn't in the mood for seeing this guy flirt with Rory or her flirt with this guy for that matter. He turned to Rory. "I'm starving. I'm gonna go get something to eat." He told her, gesturing his body in the direction of the food table.

"Oh… ok, I'll meet up with you later?" She said a little disappointed. 

"Yeah. Whatever." He answered coolly and walked off.

"So, new love interest?" Tristan said slyly.

"What? No… he's just a good friend."

"Uh-huh," he replied, not at all believing her. He saw the way Jess looked at her and how she blushed. 

She sat back down next to him and they talked for another hour or so.

Lane was of course DJ-ing the whole shindig. Rory introduced the two and hung around the DJ area with Lane for little bit. 

A forth person joined them.

"Hey, you're Lane right?" The cute guy asked.

"Yeah that's me."

"Hi. I'm Dave Rygalski," he extended his hand towards Lane.

"Right hi, you're the guitarist," shaking his hand.

"Yeah, I saw your add in the paper and I left a couple messages at the number that was listed. I take it you got a chance to listen to them."

"Yeah, I did. But how'd you know it was me."

"I remember seeing you from school and…," he motioned toward her shirt, "Dead Kennedys tipped you off". 

"Oh, right yeah." She was sorry she couldn't say that she's seen him around school too. She couldn't believe she's never seen him. _God, he's got great eyes._

They continued getting acquainted and he let Lane listen to his band's demo. Somewhere in the middle of it all Rory gave her a knowing grin and she and Tristan walked off.

Tristan stopped Rory. "Can I ask you something?" He said cunningly. 

She smiled suspiciously at him, "What?" She said slowly.

"Would you dance with me?" 

"What?" She reacted with a small laugh.

"C'mon. I know it sounds stupid and all, but I would really like to dance with you. Hey I'll even promise to be a perfect gentleman." And as if on cue a slow song came on. 

She laughed at him. "Why not?"

He gently pulled her into him by sliding his hands onto her lower back and as the song progressed, he drew her in a little closer. With her arms around his neck, she leaned her cheek against his shoulder. It was such a clear, cool night and she couldn't help but wish she was dancing with Jess. Her eyes wandered the crowd looking for him, but to her disappointment he was nowhere in sight. 

Jess walked into to his room without flipping the light switch on and walked over to the window to let the clean night breeze filter in. He caught sight of Rory dancing with Tristan and he laughed at the feeling of jealousy that soon followed and quickly pushed it away. He walked over to his bed and sat down in silence for a few minutes, not really thinking about anything or at least trying not to jump to any conclusions about Rory and that guy. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Shaking his head, he reached over to the lamp on his nightstand and switched it on. He stretched his legs out on the bed crossing them. Again he sat in still silence, and moments later he laughed at himself and the way she was making him feel. He piled some pillows behind his back to prop him up and picked up a book on his nightstand. He opened it to the page where he left off and began to read. 

The bash was finally dying down. Less people were out and about the Stars Hollow Town Square. Some have already started to clean up. 

"Well, I guess I should be going." Tristan expertly hid the fact that he still wanted to stay and talk to her.

"Yeah… I guess so. I'll see you at Chilton in the fall."

"Yeah… hey listen, I had a really great time hanging out with you tonight."

"Oh… yeah, me too." 

"Can I call you sometime? You know, maybe we can get together… have lunch or whatever… to talk. I mean, I really like talking to you." He didn't know what came over him. He's never had trouble talking around a girl before. Usually the roles would be reversed.

Rory was completely shocked at the request. "O oh… yeah, sure."

"Really?" He was totally amazed that she said yeah. 

"Yeah, it might be nice. You're not such a total jerk after all." She said sweetly. "There's a lot more to that head of yours than just good hair."

"Hey. If you wanted to see more all you had to do was just ask. I'll even set up a private screening for you if you'd like."

"Hookay hey… I changed my mind."

"Too late, you already said yes." He said and started backing away still facing her. "Till then… Mary."

**'**~// Later That Night: Jess' Room \\~**'**

Rory knocked on Jess' door. 

Expecting it was Luke, Jess didn't open the door.

"What?"

"Jess, it's me." He got up from his bed, quickly glanced around the room to check if there were any indecencies that need to be hidden. He didn't see any so he opened the door. 

"Hey." He said simply, not looking at her and lay back down in his previous position, retrieving the book he was reading.

Overcome with a little shyness at his lack of acknowledging her, she slowly entered the room. He still hadn't said anything more to her or even looked at her for that matter. Jess had so many different moods and she was still adjusting to them. She walked over to his dresser to look through the stack of cds that were sitting there. Her back was turned to him so she wasn't able to see him staring at her. 

He took in the site of her, wanting to feel the bare skin that her top purposely failed to cover. _Damn, she's one sexy girl._ He had never seen her dress like this. He couldn't control what was about to happen next…

She could feel his warm body come up from behind her. His intention was to see what cd she was looking at, but was distracted when his eyes focused on her neck instead. To make matters worse, he involuntarily breathed in her sweet scent and lost what little self-control he had left. A little curious about what he was doing behind her, she turned around and was surprised to see how dangerously close he was to her. Never touching her or leaving her eyes he slowly eased her up against the wall that was only a few inches away. Her body had a mind of its own and followed without hesitation. He extended his arm over her shoulder and rested his hand against the wall. _Ok… this is just too uncanny, she thought to herself, recalling a certain daydream she had. She saw so much passion in his eyes and when she looked down at his lips, she couldn't help but think that they looked so kissable at that moment. _

Still to some extent not touching her yet, both of their mouths parted unconsciously. He averted his gaze to her lips, then lingering a while in her eyes, and back down to her lips. She stared at his lips as he slowly leaned in. 

Everything became blurry so she closed her eyes and then felt him gently brush his lips on hers. Not quite kissing her, he was just trying to savor the feeling of having Rory's lips on his. 

The only thing that crossed her mind was that she was still holding onto his cd. She was frozen and couldn't entirely register what was happening. Seconds later she started to panic and bolted out of the room.

"Rory," he called after to her, "… damn it," he said to himself running his hand through his hair. "I am such an idiot." He said wondering why he couldn't restrain himself. Now he knew Rory wasn't attracted to him in that way. He never had a girl run out on him like that.

Rory ran to Lane's house, hoping to God she was home already. She didn't take any chances knocking at the front door so she climbed the tree just out Lane's window. She didn't care that she was wearing a skirt; she was in panic mode and with all the adrenaline pumping through her body she made it up the tree with ease. She was in luck. Lane had just walked into her bedroom. 

**'**~// Lane's Closet \\~**'**

Mellow music played in the background; soft fuchsia and sage light, accented with disco light, surrounded the closet as the two were splayed out on opposite ends of each other, propping themselves on huge pillows.

"… and you ran out?" Lane said feeling sympathetic for her friend's ordeal.

"Yes… I am soooo stupid. And on top of that I stole his cd."

"You are not stupid Rory… timid yes, but not stupid…," then came, "You stole his cd… which one?"

"Lane."

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. Hey, I just thought of something. When Dean first kissed you in the market, didn't you run out on him too and steal a box of baking soda." 

"Aahh!" She screamed into a pillow. "Oh my god! What is wrong with me? Every time a guy goes and kisses me I turn into clepto girl… I suck!"

Minutes later… "Hey… Rory, I think I should tell you something."

Rory peeked out from underneath the pillow.

"Um… well you see, there's this girl at school… that's sort of into Jess, and well, I don't know, she kinda throws herself at him and I mean she's pretty and… she's well, blond. She seems very determined about getting with him and it's only a matter of time."

Rory covered her face again.

"Rory…," Lane elbowed her leg, "Rory… say something."

A muffled sound came from beneath the pillow, "My life is way too complicated these days."

"Hey, I'd take your complicated life any day," she said admiringly. 

"Take it… I don't want it anymore." Lane rubbed her friend's leg as a sympathizing gesture.

"All I can say Rory, is that you need to find out what you want and fast before she takes him away from you. In the mean time, you need to at least give him some subtle hints that you like him like him, before he completely gives up on you. Cause right now, if I was him, I'd think you weren't interested in anything other than friendship," she advised.

"Why me?" She groaned into the pillow.

"Hey, at least now you know he's definitely into you," she said lightening up the mood.

Rory sighed. She peeked out again and looked at her friend. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Ok… enough about me and my pathetic life… let's talk about you… and Dave is it?" She smiled innocently.

"What?"

"Don't what me… I saw the chemistry between you two."

Lane smiled at the thought of Dave "I know… isn't he cute."

"Very cute."

"Yes, he is that."

"Ok enough about how cute he is… tell me about the band."

"Oh yeah… he let me listen to their demo that night and Rory… they're perfect. He's gonna call me with the details, you know when we're gonna meet and stuff, oh that reminds me… he's gonna call me at your house Monday night."

"Ok."

Lane was grinning and this in turn made Rory grin too. "Rory… I'm going to be in a band." 

"Eee!" The two squealed in unison.

**`**~// Jess' Room \\~**'**

The telephone was on its fourth ring when Jess came to the conclusion that his uncle was still at the party and he wasn't going to answer the phone. He rolled off of his bed and walked into the kitchen to pick up the cordless. 

"Hello?"

"Yeah, is Jess there?"

"Speaking."

"Hey Jess."

"Who's this?" He really didn't know who it was. The only girl he talked to on the phone was Rory.

"It's Shane."

_Shane?… Shane…_ He thought to himself trying to remember the face that belonged to Shane. He wasn't good with names. Then it came to him… _the cute blond that had been coming on to him lately. "Hey what's up?" He was wondering how the hell she got his number._

"Nothing, just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out sometime."

Now that he knew that Rory didn't reciprocate his feelings, he might as well… might as well… _might as well what? He didn't want to think anymore. He needed a distraction. "Uh yeah, why not."_

"Great, I work at the beauty supply store, you can't miss it. You can come by tomorrow and pick me up at five." 

"Ok." He kind of liked it when a girl was authoritative. 

"Bye." She breathed.

"Later."

He hung up the phone and sat down at the table. He tried not to think of Rory. Somehow she hurt him and she didn't know how much. But being Jess, hard on the outside, unfeeling on the inside, he blocked away the emotional crap. He let his guard down once and look what happened.

**'**~// The Next Day – Sunday Afternoon \\~**'**

It was a little after five when Shane leaned herself up against the stucco wall of the store she worked at and waited for Jess. Taking his precious time of course, Jess glanced at his watch, put the book he was reading down on his dresser and left to meet Shane. He walked down the stairs that lead to the diner and he saw Lorelai sitting at the counter chatting with Luke. He tried to pass her without her seeing him but no such luck. 

"Whoa there horsey, where are you off to in such a rush? Rory's not home remember? She's with her grandparents." Lorelai was so used to Jess and Rory hanging out together, she assumed he was going to see Rory.

He was surprised she was still speaking to him. He figured Rory must've not told her about last night.

"Yeah I know," trying to ignore the thoughts of Rory filling his head, "… I was just going to the beauty supply store… can I pick you up something." He said smartly.

She smirked at him. "Oh go away… I'm done talking to you now," she shooed.


	9. General Lorelai and Her Army of Two

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** WHOA!! I didn't expect to get so many ideas! You guys have given me some inspiration… Those of you who haven't written before should definitely try to dabble on your own stories. Such great ideas… funny too! This chapter is dedicated to ~***Max Kitten***~… hopefully all the horrible things she does to me won't interfere with me finishing this fic! Oh and the last little of line of this chapter, I added just for you! ;) I wrote this chapter and the next two a couple of weeks ago, so hopefully Tristan will make his appearance some time after them. Thanks for all the ideas…preeeciate the reviews!!

I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

**'**~// Stars Hollow Beauty Supply Store – April 14, Sunday Afternoon \\~**'**

On the walk to the Beauty Supply Store, Jess contemplated why he was doing what he was doing. This wasn't what he wanted… not in the least. What he wanted was Rory, but obviously she didn't want him in that way, so… this was a good enough excuse for him to explain why he was doing what he was doing… _wasn't it? He saw her leaning against the wall of the store. _She's got the cute thing goin' for her_, he proclaimed to himself making himself want this. _

"Hey." Jess said.

"Hey." Shane said.

"You ready." Jess said.

"Let's go." Shane said.

Just a mere hour later they were making out at the bridge.

**'**~// Gilmore Home \\~**'**

"Mom, I'm home." Rory called out. She waited for an answer. "Mom?" Still nothing. _She must be at Luke's._

She saw the light blinking on the answering machine and played it. "Hey babe, it's me. Meet me at Luke's. Sorry I didn't wait, you took too long and… well… you know me… I have the attention span of a two year old. Okay Luke's giving me the evil eye so I'll see you when you get here… byee."

She debated for a while on whether or not she should go. She wanted to avoid Jess for the time being but her stomach was against it. She was starving and there was absolutely nothing in the house that was edible. _Luke's it is._

**'**~// Luke's Diner \\~**'**

Rory sat at the table where her mother was at. "I can't believe you didn't wait for me."

"What, I got hungry." She defended and then showed Rory her pearly whites.

"What? Why are you smiling like that?"

"Oh Luuke, she's here!"

Luke set down a big plate of food in front of Rory. Her eyes grew big when she saw the food and instantly picked up a chili cheese fry and munched on it. "Ok, you're forgiven." She looked around the diner and thankfully didn't see Jess anywhere. But that didn't last long when she heard the bells jingle their certain Jess jingle. She looked up she saw him. He wasn't alone, walking behind him was a blond… _the_ blond. Rory's face dropped. It was like an accident, she couldn't help but stare. Jess briefly glanced her way but to Rory he seemed as though he looked right through her. Jealous thoughts filled her head as the two headed upstairs. 

"Whoa… who was thaat?" Lorelai asked watching the two disappear behind the curtain, popping fries in her mouth like they were popcorn and she was watching a really good movie.

Rory sat with a disgusted look on her face.

"Rory, are you okay?" 

"Yeah sure. I'm fiine. Juust **peachy." She said completely annoyed. "I _can't_ believe him."**

"What?" Lorelai was very confused, momentary silence followed.

Rory was going crazy inside. "Oh my god… I have to go." She started to get up from her chair, but Lorelai grabbed her arm.

"Wait a second. Tell me what's wrong. Talk to me."

"It's nothing… _god_ I don't believe him." She said totally pissed off.

"What Rory, tell me. Why are you mad? Is it because he's with that girl?"

"**Yes**." She said sickened with the said blond.

"Well… hun, I hate to tell you this… but he's not your boyfriend, so why are you acting like this… do you like him, do you _like Jess?"_

"What?! **No**… no, I don't like Jess." She was dying inside. She couldn't believe what was happening. _Just last night he was kissing me and now today he's upstairs kissing **her** and probably doing other things besides kissing. _She felt sick. Not wanting another run in with the two, "Mom, can we just go," she begged.

"Yeah, sure." She could see how her daughter was feeling. "Just let me pay for this." She got up from her seat and went over to the counter to pay for the bill.

Jess came downstairs and walked over to the counter. He saw Lorelai before she saw him and thought about making a quick move back upstairs, but he held his ground. 

"Hey Jess." Lorelai said with a hint of anger in it. She didn't know what was going on between the two of them, but if Rory was mad at him, then there was no question that she would be too. 

He looked up at her and noticed her glaring at him… the same way she used to glare at him when she hated him. _Not this again_.

"Ms. Gilmore." He said smartly. He casually picked up a plate and placed two muffins on it. He accidentally glanced at Rory. He couldn't help it. She looked away the second he caught her eyes. But she wasn't quick enough. He saw the anger in her eyes… and quite possibly _hurt_. He wasn't sure if he imagined the latter. He shook his head and went back upstairs. 

Luke noticed the whole exchange. "What was that about?"

"I don't know yet, but I will find out. If that little ferret hurt Rory, I'm gonna-" She didn't bother to continue when she saw Rory walk out of the diner. "I'll see you tomorrow Luke."

**'**~// Gilmore Home \\~**'**

Rory didn't utter a single word on the ride home from Luke's. She just stared out the window. Once they reached their house, she went straight to her room. Lorelai was worried about her but she wanted to give her some alone time.

Rory peeled her clothes off and slipped into her pjs. She turned the lights off and lay down on her bed, pulling her quilt up over her head. She thought up reasons as to why Jess was with that girl, but then she remembered what Lane had told her. _This sucks_. 

After a long while, she finally fell asleep.

**'**~// Monday Morning \\~**`**

She woke up to the blaring whir of her alarm clock. She hit the snooze button and stayed in the warm confines of her bed a little while longer. Thoughts of yesterday came flooding into her mind and she was unhappy all over again. _God this sucks_. Her alarm clock sounded again and this time she turned it off. She really didn't want to go to school today but she knew that wasn't an option so she pulled herself right out of bed. She took a shower, dressed in her uniform and went into the kitchen. Her mother was at the table, coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

Lorelai looked up at her daughter sympathetically. "How you feeling?" She didn't look like she got enough sleep last night. 

"Just great." She answered sarcastically. She grabbed a thermos from the cupboard and poured some coffee into it. _A pop tart would go perfectly with this. She was starving; she didn't get to finish her food last night. _

"There're some pop tarts in the toaster if you'd like."

Rory took the two pop tarts and placed them in a napkin. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" She dared to ask. Rory looked so sad.

"Maybe later ok?" 

"Yeah… yeah sure, we can talk about it later. Um, I've got some free time before work. Do you want me to drive you to school?"

"No that's okay. I'll take the bus." She hurled her backpack on her back, grabbed her thermos and headed for the front door.

"Bye mom."

"Bye sweetie." 

Rory left her house early so that meant she was going to have extra time for some bench reading at the bus stop. She took off her backpack and sat it next to her and opened it up. She had about four reading books to choose from and as she flipped through them she came across the book that Jess had given her. She ran her finger along the top of it wishing she could go back in time to when Jess had kissed her. She wished she would have kissed him back. _I'm sooo stupid… what is wrong with me!_

"Jess, give it back!" Shane squealed.

From behind she heard the blonde's voice. She knew it was her, even though she'd never heard her speak, she could tell by the way she said Jess' name. She mustered up the courage to turn around. She saw the two walking towards Stars Hollow High, their backs toward her of course. Jess was holding something in the air playing some kind of keep away game with her and Shane was jumping up and down all girlishly, purposely bouncing her buddies in front of him. Rory scrunched her face in a sour expression at the two and turned back around. "Bleech."

Somehow Jess felt the need to turn around and wasn't at all surprised to see Rory waiting for her bus. On many mornings like this, he would be waiting with her until her bus came. Sometimes he would even take the ride to Chilton with her, against Rory's protests of course.

**'**~// Flashback \\~**'**

"Jess… what do you think you're doing?" Rory stopped on the bus' steps when she heard Jess behind her.

"I'm trying to get on this bus, but you see… there's this girl in front of me… who's holding up the line." There was no line behind him.

"Why are _you_ trying to get on this bus?"

He stepped on the first step and was at eyelevel with her. She was on the second step. "Can't a guy take a ride on a bus without being harassed?" He mocked as if he was supporting an important cause. 

She felt hot all of a sudden. He loved toying with her like this, the flushed look turned him on every time. She quickly composed herself, "Jess, go to school," trying to keep her smile hidden.

"That's what I'm trying to do."

"Jess… Go. To. _Your. School."_

"I am going to _your_ school." He smirked at her.

"Jess."

"What?" He laughed.

"You can't miss school."

"I'll just be missing Homeroom. No big deal." He then pouted at her. He knew that would get her every time.

"Fine… but just this once."

That wasn't the last time. Jess talked and pouted his way onto her bus every time. 

**`**~// End Flashback \\~**'**

On the bus ride to Chilton, Rory thought about her relationship with Jess. She wondered if they had any kind of relationship left. It had been two days since she last talked to him, and she was really missing him. She couldn't believe their friendship had ended so fast. She figured she couldn't call him anymore or hang out with him. She was so confused.

**'**~// Gilmore Home \\~**'**

"I'm home!" Rory yelled as she came in through the front door. 

"In here." Lorelai called out from the living room. She was lying on the couch flipping through a magazine.

Rory walked into the living room. "I'm ready to talk." She sulked.

Lorelai patted the seat next to her and Rory told her everything that happened. She even told her that she _liked_ Jess.

"Oh sweetie…"

**`**~// Later that Night \\~**'**

"… yeah so we'll meet at the music store… ok… bye." Lane hung up the phone.

"So what did Dave say?"

"Well, he said the rest of his band is really excited to meet me. Apparently Dave made me seem more colorful than I really am."

"I bet everything he said about you was right on point."

"I'm so nervous and excited all at the same time."

"Me too. When do you guys meet?"

"This Saturday… we're gonna make it our first official band practice and we'll see where we should go from there."

"Eee!" They squealed together jumping up and down.

Lorelai was just in time and joined in on the festivities. "Eee! Why are we so happy?!"

"Lane's in a band!"

"What?!" Lorelai was so happy for Lane. They stopped jumping. Lorelai placed her hands on Lane's shoulders. "This is going to be sooo cool! You are my ticket to finally meeting Bono!" She said like the true drama queen that she is.

Lane grinned at her. "I'm glad I could be of service!"

"Hey, let's go celebrate… " She raised her arm in the air and commanded "To Luke's!" She moved onward and noticed that her army wasn't behind her. The two just stood there and stared at Lorelai. She remembered- _oh right, Jess is the enemy. She tried again and raised her arm in the air and commanded, "To Al's!" The two giggled and followed their leader._

**`**~// Al's Pancake World \\~**'**

Of all the places in Stars Hollow to eat, Rory and Jess still managed to eat at the same place at the same time. Neither of them noticed the other throughout their whole meal, luckily for Rory. Last time she wasn't able to finish her food.

"I hate to eat and run, but mama's probably wondering what's taking me so long. I told her that I left my Biology book at your house and I needed to pick it up."

"Well, where is your biology book?"

"Oh, it's in the mailbox."

"Of course. Where else would it be?" Totally not questioning it because she was talking to the one and only Lane Kim whose life was anything but ordinary.

She took one last bite of her General Tso's Chicken and took off. "I'll call you!" She yelled to Rory.

"You better!" She yelled back.

This was when Jess realized Rory was a couple tables away. 

"What are you looking at?" Shane asked a little annoyed.

"Nothin'… you done?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go." They got up and the only way out was to pass Rory and Lorelai's table. Lorelai caught sight of Jess before Rory did and tried to distract her, but it didn't work.

Rory's could feel her heart stop when she saw Jess… with _her. They both planned on playing the ignoring game. She tried to play it cool and acted like it was nothing. And out of nowhere came "Hey Jess." Everyone was shocked including Rory. __Did I just say that? She wished she hadn't said anything. She wanted to be invisible._

Jess and Shane passed their table but Jess turned around slightly to look at her and decided it was only right to acknowledge her back, "Rory" He replied and continued to walk on.

"Rory." Lorelai was flabbergasted. Rory smiled at her mother. "I'm so proud of you." She said dramatically.

"Mom." She groaned.

"No seriously, I'm glad you're not letting them get to you." 

**_Ha_**… she wished the sight of those two together didn't bother her so much, but it sure did… to the point where she wanted to do _horrible things to Shane!! _

**A/N:** Ssshhh… don't tell anyone this, but I heard that if you click the Go button you might actually see the next chapter… seriously… it'll magically appear… no lie… try it… come on… you know you want to…


	10. Mmmm Chili Beef Soup

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N: **A sincere apology goes out to ~***Jess**, **Briana**, **Naveed**, uh **noname**, and **Kate***~ Sorry… I must have heard it wrong about the Go button, muh bad… those darn rumors! Sheesh, some people… ;) ~***Kate*~ Just want to say _demand_ away… make me write! ~***Anne** and **Sara** ****V*~ Fear not Rory will soon have a boy toy! I have to acknowledge a fellow author ~***tigress33***~. If you haven't read **How the New Girl Changed Everything**, you must. Pure brilliance… she sure knows how to make you fall in love with a totally new character. Thanks for reviewing even though I had to trick you into it! Hope this makes up for it… \**

I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline

**`**~// Gilmore Home – Friday Morning \\~**'**

"Morning sweetie."

Rory was dressed and refreshed for yet another day of school. "Morning mom." 

"You up for going to Luke's for breakfast today." Rory looked at her in disbelief. "Honey, you have to stop avoiding him, I thought you were over Jess." Rory still stared at her mother. "Don't you miss the coffee? I mean you haven't been in there for Five. Whole. Straight. Days. It's sacrilege. I don't see how you can do it. Aren't you tired of eating at Al's or for that matter eating store bought Chili Beef Soup? Bleech... "

"Hey you're the one who introduced me to Chili Beef Soup. You're just mad you can't enjoy it like I can because you ate it so much you got sick of it."

"Ok. Fine. I'll go… buh Myself… Uhgain… Uhlone." She moped.

"Mom, you go to Luke's everyday on your lunch break… by Yourself… Alone."

Lorelai sighed. "But it's so much more fun with you there. I miss you." Lorelai whined.

"Mom, I have to get to school." She was in such a good mood this morning until her mother ruined it with the first mention of Jess.

She left early again and for the first time she didn't feel like reading at the bus stop. So she took her time and basked in the summerness that only Stars Hallow could bestow. She couldn't wait for summer vacation. Only a month and a half left of school and then she would be free from the stresses of school. 

She suddenly stopped in her tracks when she saw Jess at _her bench reading a book. What _the hell does he think he's doing?_ She took a deep breath and trudged towards him. She stood in front of him. Without looking up, he knew it was her. He closed his book and stuffed it in his pocket._

"Rory." He smirked.

"Jess." She smirked back and took a seat next to him on the bench.

"So I take it you're talking to me again."

"Hey. I never stopped talking to you." She said a little too heated.

"Ooo did I hit a nerve?"

"Why are you here Jess?"

"Last time I checked… this was a free bench."

**_God he's infuriating!_** She decided to ignore him so she pulled out a book from her backpack and started to read- or at least pretend to read it. 

Jess couldn't take the silence. He scooted over towards her and put his arm around the bench and pretended to read along with her. **_Why does he have to do that?!_ _Why? *inhales* …and he has to smell good too._ He was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek. She couldn't take it. _Why is he torturing me like this?!_**

"Do you mind?" She asked fully annoyed now.

He backed away a little. "I think the question here is do _you mind… 'cause frankly I don't mind at all…," then under his breath but audible enough for Rory to hear, "You never used to mind before." He said seriously. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever but in fact was only a matter of seconds._

"Jess! You coming!" Shane yelled from across the street. He broke their gaze.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec!" He said gliding his hand through his hair.

He looked back at Rory who was silently fuming. "Have a good day Rory." He said snidely. And with that he stood up and began to cross the street to Shane.

"Good riddance Jess." She didn't mean for him to hear her but apparently he had. It was Shane's fault anyway that she said it. She just had to interrupt their little moment. He turned around and paused to look at her dismayed. He came to his senses when the two girls screeched his name matching the same screech coming from somewhere else. He was suddenly violently pushed off his feet… by a car.

Rory and Shane ran to him. 

"Oh my god!" Rory knelt down beside him and gently shook him. "Jess… Jess, can you hear me?"

The guy driving the car ran over to them, scarred out of his wits. "Oh god, is he alright?"

"I I don't know! He he's not moving! Jess…" 

"Shouldn't we get somebody?!" Shane panicked.

"Yes! Go get Luke… Tell him to call an ambulance! Jess… _please… Jess answer me." He wasn't moving, she started to panic and tears slowly began to fall._

Jess finally started to come to. He saw a blurry image of Rory. _Why is she crying? Then a sharp pain started in coming from his temple. He started to reach for it._

"Jess… oh thank god! I thought you were…" The overall fear subsided slightly as she quickly wiped away any tears that were shed. "Are you okay Jess?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He started to get up, a little wobbly at first, but he was able to stand. 

"Wait, aren't you supposed to stay still?" Rory protested.

He began dusting himself off and straightening his clothes. "I said I'm alright." He couldn't look at her.

Luke and Shane came running and a small crowd started to form around the car.

"Jess!" Luke yelled, worry colored his face but somehow he was ghostly pale.

"Relax, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine… The guy stopped the car in time to just shove me off my feet. I just got the wind knocked out of me that's all… it was nothin'." 

The car was just turning the corner when the driver failed to see Jess standing in the middle of the road. Apparently the driver was fiddling with something on the passenger's seat of the car, but thankfully looked up just in time to not do any serious damage.

"You're sure?"

"I said yes! Geeze."

"We should still get you checked out." Luke noticed the crowd that formed around them. He put his arm around Jess and led him to the diner. "There's nothing to see here!" He yelled out.

Jess shrugged himself out of Luke's grasp. "I said I was fine."

Rory just stood there utterly stunned by what just happened. Just a few short minutes ago, she thought Jess was dead and the last thing that she said to him was good riddance. How unbelievable was that? She didn't know whether or not to follow them back to the diner. Shane was already at his side and besides she still couldn't get over what she said to him. She felt horrible. She got her answer when her bus arrived. Rory found her self sobbing on the bus ride to Chilton. She didn't know why she was so emotional. _Jess is fine. Get a grip. She figured it was because it was her time of the month. She tends to get overly emotional. __Yeah… that must be it…_

**`**~// Doose's Market – Friday Afternoon \\~**`**

Rory didn't go home when she got off the bus from school. All the talk about chili beef soup earlier made her crave for it all day. She promised herself she wouldn't eat the whole bowl so she wouldn't spoil her dinner with her grandparents. She stopped at Doose's Market to grab a few. She knew exactly what aisle she would find them at and sure enough Jess was standing in her aisle_. Perfect. Why do these things always happen to me? _

"Rory." He caught her just as she tried to turn around and go the opposite direction of him.

She smiled uncomfortably at him. She saw the fresh scrapes near his temple that were not entirely covered with the bandage. She held back her hand that desperately wanted to caress it. He also had a couple of scrapes and gashes along his arms. He was lucky enough to walk away with just a few minor scrapes and bruises. She felt that it was partly her fault… most of it actually… okay all of it. If she didn't say what she said, he wouldn't have stayed in the middle of the road staring at her in disbelief. She felt awful. No words came to mind, so she remained silent.

"Are you following me? 'Cause everywhere I turn, you're always there." He said cruelly. He couldn't control his mouth sometimes. It had a mind of its own. And he was still upset about her running out on him and what she said to him today. . 

_Wow… that was… really… mean_, she thought quietly as she gave him a really nasty look in an attempt to not give him the pleasure of seeing her hurt. 

"Ouch." Jess felt her look. "You better be careful, you're face might permanently stay that way. Then what would you do." He couldn't believe these words were coming out of his mouth. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

She was completely taken aback at the way he was talking to her and couldn't help but look hurt.

_Christ. Now you've done it_. Jess silently kicked himself. 

She immediately searched for what she came there for, grabbed a couple off the shelf and threw them in her basket. She wanted to get away from him before she started to cry. Right now anything could make her cry and didn't want to take any chances with Jess seeing her cry over something so ridiculously stupid.

In an effort to keep her around a little while longer he took one out and read the label. "Mmm chili beef soup… I must say that sounds terribly disgusting."

Rory grabbed it from him and threw it back in her basket. She started to walk to the cashier. He blocked her path.

"Are you not speaking to me again?"

"No." She wanted to apologize to him about what she said to him earlier, but he just wasn't making it easy. 

"Huh."

"Would you please let me pass?"

"Fine." He lingered a bit in the aisle.

"Thank you." She paid for her goods and walked out of the market. He followed. He picked up his pace just enough so that he was walking next to her.

"Ok, who's following who now?"

"I'm not following; I'm just headed in the same direction as you."

"Whatever." She didn't care anymore, then she mumbled, "Just leave me alone." He exhausted her enough today.

He stopped her by gently grabbing her arm. 

"What Jess?" She was tired of this. "Don't you have a girlfriend to attend to?"

He sighed. "Do you _really_ want me to leave you alone?"

"Yes… Please…" _Why did I just say that? Take it back._

"Ok." Before she could take it back he took off in the opposite direction. _Say something. She urged herself. __Speak! Now's your chance you idiot. She was speechless. _

She wasn't in the mood for Chili Beef Soup anymore. Her stomach already felt like Chili Beef Soup.

**`**~// Gilmore Home \\~**'**

Rory was sitting at the kitchen table staring at the store bought Chili Beef Soup when Lorelai walked in.

"Contemplating on whether or not Chili Beef Soup is really that good huh?"

"I think I'm with you… Bleech …" She scrunched her yuck face at her mother.

Lorelai plopped herself in the chair next to her. "You look like you're still in a funk."

"Oh yeah… it's nothing really… it's just that I almost **_killed_ Jess today." **

"Honey, that wasn't your fault."

"Obviously, you haven't heard the story correctly. I should tell you my version." She told Lorelai what she said to Jess that made him stop in the middle of the street.

"Ooo… sweetie, maybe it was your fault." She said trying to make light of the situation.

"Mom." Rory groaned. "Thanks a lot."

"I'm kidding…" She rubbed Rory's back. "Honey it was an accident, very unfortunate accident… just be grateful that Jess wasn't badly hurt."

Lorelai began taking an interest in the store bought Chili Beef Soup. Looking at it like it was a huge yummy piece of chocolate. This made Rory stare at it too. She glanced back at Lorelai making googley eyes at it. Rory started to see what she was seeing. "Shall I?" Lorelai boldly asked.

Rory nodded. Chili Beef Soup regained its popularity to the Gilmore girls once again.

Lorelai quickly nuked it in the microwave while Rory grabbed two bowls and two spoons. She waited patiently for the beep from the microwave signaling that the Chili Beef Soup was done.

Lorelai dibbied it up between them.

"Hey… you have more." Rory whined like a four year old.

"Nu uh."

"Yuh huh… it's only right that I get more… after all, I'm the one who's in a funk here."

Lorelai thought about it. "True." She took her bowl and poured more into her daughter's bowl. Rory's eyes widened as she rubbed her hands together. 

"Mmm… how could I have betrayed you like that?" Lorelai asked her Chili Beef Soup.

They devoured their Chili Beef Soup leaving their bowls completely spotless. 

`****~// Gilmore Driveway: Back From Dinner with the Grandparents ****9:30p.m.**** \\~**`**

"So what are your plans for the rest of the night?" Lorelai had to leave Rory alone tonight because they needed her at the Inn.

"I don't know. I'm pretty tired. I'll probably just study for a little bit and go to bed."

"Ok… try not to have too much fun."

She forced a smile at her mother. She knew exactly what she'd be doing tonight. She was going to be thinking about Jess.

Rory changed out of her dinner wear and into her sleepwear. She made her way into the living room, flipped the television on and plunked herself on the couch. She didn't even want to try to get some studying in. 

She had to do something about this Jess situation. She knew deep down inside that he didn't mean to hurt her by saying those awful things. He was apparently in defense mode. Somehow she had hurt him in some way and he was just trying to get back at her. At least she hoped. She truly missed him. Right now, she and Jess would probably be sitting on this very couch watching television or reading, enjoying each others company.

**`**~// Flashback \\~**'**

Rory was sitting on the couch with Jess' head on her lap, both completely engrossed in their books.

Jess peeked over his book at Rory. He loved to watch her read. Her eyes seem to glaze at the words as if she was on some kind of high. 

She caught him. "What? Quit staring at me like that."

"I can't help it… you're just _sooo beautiful." He half-teased._

She immediately blushed. He started to laugh to ease her blush, but seemed to make it worse. "Nah, it's just when you read your eyes do this thing… where it makes you look like you're high on something. 

"Oh shut up." She pushed him to the floor. He quickly kneeled up.

"You're just askin' for it aren't you? Would you like another repeat of a certain tickling fest we had not too long ago."

"Ok, ok I'm sorry. Please, just _nooo tickling." She begged, giving him a pleading innocent smile._

"I'll let you off the hook this time." He smirked and lay back in his original position and started to read again. He glanced at her staring at him and then continued to read. 

At that moment, she wanted to kiss him. Kiss him like she's never kissed Dean. Kiss him and feel him and whatever else him. As usual, she wouldn't live up to it so her only other option was to just fantasize about it. She stared at his lips and parted hers as she imagined what it would be like to kiss him.

He noticed she was still starting at him, but something was different. "Ok… Rory… you have to quit staring at me like I'm a piece of meat, it makes me feel very uncomfortable." He joked.

Her eyes widened as she blushed yet again. **_Crap_. She didn't know what to do so she just pushed him to the floor again and instantly huddled into a fetal position on the couch awaiting the punishment. **

"Ok, thaat's it." He got on top of her and started to tickle her mercilessly.

**`**~// End Flashback \\~**`**

Just as Rory was about to doze off, the phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

**A/N:**  This was actually a longer chapter but I just had to make it a cliffhanger! Bring it on… I can take the hate!!!


	11. Guess Who's Coming for Lunch?

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** ~***emjai***~ Thanks for your review, you are too kind ;) ~***Jade***~ you make me cheese =) -you reviewed all my chapters! ~***Kate***~ you're cooool, I think I luv you too;) I was about to let this story sit and fester for a little bit, but after I read your review and the others, it made feel like continuing. I'm kinda in a funk 'cause this is the last chapter I've written. I like to have at least three chapters written before I post a new one, but I guess I should play nice and not keep you guys hanging for too long… so here it is guys…

I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline

"Hello?" Rory said a little too breathily.

"Hey Mary."

"Tristan?" She asked dazedly. 

"Did I uh… interrupt something 'cause you sound like you were-" 

Rory cut him off, "Um… no, I was just watching t.v."

"Well damn Rory, it must be really good 'cause when you answered the phone… you sounded all hot and bothered. Why don't you tell me what you're watching so I can get in on it too?"

"**Tristan**." She warned playfully, finally fully awake now.

"I'm kidding… hey it's not too late to be calling you is it?" It was about eleven o'clock.

"Oh… uh no, it's ok." She couldn't believe he was actually calling her; then again, this was Tristan. 

"So what's a girl like you doing home on a Friday night?"

"I should be asking you the same question. Shouldn't you be off with the flavor of the evening trying to get some?" She teased.

"Ooo… she strikes… but for the record Rory… I don't have to try," and he dared to continue, "speaking of which… you seem to be free tonight… why don't I-"

Rory quickly interrupted, "Don't even think about completing that sentence Tristan or this conversation is over." She said jokingly. She kinda enjoyed their repartee. It was certainly different from Jess and Dean. It used to annoy her to no end when she hated him, but she found it to be rather enjoyable.

"Ok, ok…" He knew he was pushing but how could he possibly have a conversation with Rory without some type of sexual innuendos thrown in. He should act fast though, before something else slips out and she really hangs up on him. "I should get to the point of this late night boot-… uh phone call." He could have sworn that his mouth was hooked up to something other than his brain.

"Yes please do… and for the record… if you continued to say 'booty call' I would have definitely given you a new meaning to booty call. Are you catching the drift I'm throwing at you Tristan?" She teased.

Tristan laughed. _Oh how I've missed this girl._ "Well, I just wanted to cash in on that dinner you owe me… so how's tomorrow say seven o'clock. I'll pick you up… and we could have dinner… in your town." He liked Stars Hollow, it was so… _homey_.

_Huh… this wouldn't be like a date?_ And before she knew it she said it out loud. "Tristan, this sounds too much like a… date." 

"Why would you think that?" He asked cleverly.

"Well, you're picking me up at a specified time and at seven o'clock no less, which is definitely a 'date' time. We'll be eating dinner too so that'll sort of constitute the whole date aspect. So yeah, I would think that this would be a date."

"Why Mary you are reading way too much into this. Of course it isn't a date… like I said the last time I saw you, I really like talking with you and I just wanted to have dinner like a couple of old buddies would… why… did you want it to be a date Rory?" He had to say it wasn't a date because if he said it was, she most definitely would not have agreed to it.

"Ha." She didn't mean to laugh loudly. "Sorry, no I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea."

"Trust me Rory; I have no romantic interest in you at all." He retorted. He was a little hurt by her response. "If it'll make you feel better we could go to lunch… at twelve, but I'm still picking you up."

For some reason it hurt to hear him say that he had no romantic interest in her. She wouldn't be normal if it didn't. "Well the time change still doesn't change anything, but ok… so… twelve it is. And don't be late or I'll-"

"Or you'll what, spank me? Well if that's the case Rory, I wouldn't expect me until-"

Rory hung up on Tristan. She couldn't help it; she wanted to see if she could make him squirm. 

Tristan panicked. _Shit_. He quickly dialed her number again.

"Hello?"

He didn't know what to say, for once in his life he was at a loss for words. If he opened his mouth, he might end up saying the wrong thing and she'll never speak to him again.

"Tristan, I was joking."  
  


"I knew that." He said pretending he actually did.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  


"Yeah." He grinned at his own gullible-ness. "I'll see you tomorrow… g'night… Mary."

"G'Night Satan… oh and don't forget you're triton… there's something about it that just turns me on." She fed seductively. Tristan was starting to rub off on her. 

"I knew it!" Tristan grinned. 

"G'Night Tristan." 

One word. **WEIRD. How weird was it that she was going to 'hang out' with Tristan tomorrow. Of all the guys in the world, it was just too weird. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought that Tristan and her could be friends let alone become good friends. In the past, he had tormented her and teased her with sexual banter, but somehow in the short time that she had talked to him at Sookie's pre-wedding bash, she could tell that he had matured… of course he still had his overrated boyish charm and wit… without it he wouldn't be Tristan. It was sort of a trademark of his… partly because he was so great at it. **

He was as unbelievably charismatic as ever that it should be outlawed. Girls flocked to him and in a way you could say that he was the reason why they invented the words 'chick magnet'. But somehow Rory was his polar opposite. She never wanted to give him the time of day when they were at Chilton, which was partly the reason why he was so drawn to her. He wanted to get to know her… there was just something special about this girl and he wanted to find out and experience it for himself. 

She was glad that Tristan had called because for a moment she was able to clear her mind of Jess. But only for a moment… thoughts of Jess had yet again consumed her head. She couldn't stand them being like this anymore. She made up her mind and finally declared that she was on a mission to find out why Jess kissed her that night. They had gone yet another week acting like they weren't friends anymore and she hated it. Tristan somehow reminded her how much she missed Jess.

For the past two months they became so close. She couldn't understand how it could all disappear just like that. Poof. Finito. She wanted Jess back in her life, but how- he's got Shane now. How would she factor in? She already can't stand the sight of the two of them together. She tried to think of ways to approach him. She wanted to do it casually. Their recent encounters were anything but civil, so she had to think of some way to see him. 

Well, there was a certain cd that she lifted from him. That could be an excuse to go over there and see him. Maybe she would even finally let him know how she felt about him. _How does that saying go 'Better Late than Never'? Yes. Tomorrow she was going to talk to Jess and finally everything would be out in the open and hopefully be resolved so they can go back to way it used to be… before Shane… __before the kiss. _

**`**~// Luke's Diner — Saturday Late Morning ****10:45a.m.**** \\~**'**

She was never so nervous in her life. Chickening out was definitely not going to be an option today. She immediately searched around for Jess when she stepped into the diner. She didn't see him. He always worked on Saturdays around this time. Maybe he was in the back. She walked up to the counter where Luke was balancing four plates filled with food to deliver to some very hungry people.

"Hey Luke."

"Hi Rory, just give me a second and I'll take you're order."

"Ok. Um… is Jess upstairs."

"Uh yeah he should be. He was supposed to be down here a half hour ago. He's late… again. Hey, would you mind going up there and tell him to get his butt down here. I need some help with the late-breakfast early-lunch crowd.

"Yeah sure." _Looks like I don't need the cd_. Butterflies started swarming around in her stomach. She tried to ignore all the 'what if' questions burrowing their way in her head and tried to regain focus. She could really use a cup of coffee right about now. But if she got a cup of coffee there would be a small amount of time allotted for her to think about what she was doing and she might back down… so yeah, coffee wasn't an option either.

As usual the music was blaring when she reached the top of the stairs and neared the door. She didn't bother to knock because the music was too loud for him to hear it anyway. Any other time she usually just walked in. So she reached for the door knob and turned it, not at all surprised that it wasn't locked. Her face fell when she opened the door and saw the sight before her. 

Jess was lying down with his back to the floor with a certain blond lying on top of him. It would appear as though Shane was pinning him down because she was holding his wrists to floor. They were still kissing when Rory opened the door and they hadn't stop yet. Obviously they weren't aware of her presence. Rory's heart began to break into a million pieces. 

Somehow Jess sensed someone in the room and opened his eyes to see Rory standing in the doorway. He stopped kissing Shane and eased himself from her grip.

"What? What's wrong, why'd you stop?" Shane saw him looking at something behind her. She got a little scared at the thought of being caught by his uncle. She whispered to him, "I knew we should have gone to your room." She slowly got up from on top of him and stood up, straightening her clothes. Then she noticed it was just a girl, _the_ girl actually. _The_ girl from Al's Pancake World, _the_ girl that almost killed Jess, _the_ girl whose name must be _Rory_ for Jess would accidentally call her that name on numerous occasions.

Jess got up and turned the music off.

Shane looked at Rory giving her a territorial look. "Who's she?"

"My name's Rory." She stated annoyingly.

"Well, what do you want **Rory**?" She questioned matching Rory's annoyance.

"Shane… I'll meet you downstairs." Jess interrupted, before Rory could say anything.

"What?" Shane asked surprised.

"I said I'll meet you downstairs." Shane gave him a fake hurt look. "Tell Luke to fix us up a plate of whatever you want. I'm starved." 

"Ok." She grabbed Jess by the shirt and gave him what she thought was a mind blowing kiss. He wasn't feeling it though. As she kissed him, Jess watched Rory's disgusted reaction turn to an uncomfortable one. "Don't make me wait too long." She griped. When she left she didn't leave Rory's eyes until she was out the door. Rory just glared back at her.

Jess walked over to the kitchen to get a coke from the fridge. He opened the can and took a swig of the cold drink. "Did you want something?" He looked her dead in the eyes.

"Uh… no." Luke just told me to come up and get you because you were late for work and it's getting really busy downstairs with the early-breakfast late-lu… uh I mean late-breakfast early-lunch crowd and he really needs you to help out so you should go downstairs and help him… out…" She babbled incessantly.

"O kaay." Finally getting the gist from all the babble. 

"I gotta… um…" Rory turned away and jogged downstairs and casually walked toward the diner door. 

"Rory." Luke called after her. 

"Um, Jess is on his way down." She said to him. 

She was finally away from the diner… away from Jess and his stupid blonde girlfriend. She felt like she was suffocating. This was the worst day of her life. Absolutely nothing was going as planned. And to make matters worse, Tristan would be at her house in about an hour. She had to recuperate.

Jess wanted so much to call her back, but held it in. Pride played a major factor in it. Yesterday she had told him that she wanted him to leave her alone, but here she was and with impeccable timing too. She must really hate him now. 

He couldn't begin to explain his relationship with Shane. It wasn't really much of a relationship. It wasn't much of anything. They didn't talk a whole lot mainly because Shane couldn't hold a meaningful conversation with him and when she did talk, he just wanted her to shut up so he'd just make out with her. He was beginning to think that going out with Shane wasn't such a good idea. He didn't know what the hell he was thinking. Shane was definitely not his type of girl… _Rory was. _

Loosing a friendship with Rory over a stupid kiss and Shane just wasn't worth it. He should have just done the sane thing and pretended that the kiss never happened, unless of course she brought it up. That would be an entirely different story. He viewed the kiss as a mistake and happened at the wrong time… maybe she just wasn't ready yet, he thought still with high hopes of being with her. 

He blamed it on something called emotion. He let it overcome his sanity and made him do stupid unlikeJess type things. Well it was definitely time to get his sanity back. And first things first, he had to cut Shane loose before her lack of… well… anything rubs off on him.

He could tell that Rory not only came upstairs to relay a message from his uncle, but she looked determined about something too. And he was going to find out what it was.

**A/N:** Have no fear guys, this will be a literati… I hope! Ah-ha-ha-ha ;) Me evil no?


	12. Rruun, Rrorry, Rruun!

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** ~***KATE***~ YOU'RE COOL!!*yes I am screaming* Stories should be begging to be reviewed by you----you are an author's dream come true!! You are too funny and you've definitely made my day!! =D … btw One Powder Blue Pony is definitely in the works!! ~***BROEmEaNtToBe***~ Yay, I have a book. That's so cool!! But we may have killed so many trees in the process =-( oh well! ~***hasapi***~ one literati story coming right up! ~***Naveed***~ I seriously tried to make it long… but it just wouldn't let me… ~***starbelly***~ I love the whole "I'm a whore" sticker idea, you should patent it……….I'll definitely buy one and give it to Shane… ~***tigress33** and **laurel***~ I'm glad you like the flashbacks… I like writing them… ~***Heidi** and **Katie***~ I'm glad someone out there loves it! Thanks everyone who reviewed and helped me decide on this whole Jess/Tristan thingy, you guys are GRRREAT!! 

I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

**~*~**

She ran all the way home… running seemed to make her feel better. Feeling this jealous over a boy that she couldn't even call her own was just plain silly. What was she thinking… trying to him talk to him and tell him that she wanted him back in her life? The boy obviously was way too occupied now to play with little ol' Rory. 

When she reached her house she headed straight to the bathroom to take another shower, seeing Shane all over Jess like that made her feel dirty. Thirty minutes later she was in her room deciding what to wear on her hanging out session with Tristan. Weird… she still couldn't get over it.

She settled on a light pink top to go with her fatigue colored pants and slipped on her sneakers. Just as she was putting a little gloss on her lips, the door bell rang. She read her watch. It was only eleven thirty and Tristan was early. _Crap. She didn't have time to blow dry her hair. She quickly brushed her hair and tied it up in a pony tail. She knew a headache was going to give her grief later._

She opened the door to Tristan leaning on the door jam in his usually leaning fashion. 

"Whoa… you don't look too happy to see me Rory. Why I'm hurt." He smirked.

"You're thirty minutes early."

"I thought you wanted me to be prompt." 

"Well you see there is a difference between being early and being prompt. And because you're thirty minutes early I didn't get a chance to dry my hair and now I'm going to have a massive headache which will result in me being very crabby and you won't be able to stand my company anymore."

He laughed. He never knew this girl could say so much in one breath, she must have quite a pair of lungs. "You can still dry your hair off." He casually invited himself in. "I'll just wait… no rush." He found the living room, picked up a Cosmo magazine from the coffee table and sat on the couch. "Don't worry, I can entertain myself." He said evilly as he held up the magazine to her.

She stood in the hallway as she watched him make himself at home. "Ok. You know what? You're gross." She scoffed and went to her room to dry her hair.

Ten minutes later and headache free, she was ready to grab something to eat. She was too excited and nervous about her little Jess mission earlier that she had somehow forgotten to eat breakfast. It was almost noon and she had yet to put something in her stomach.

When she came out she saw Tristan holding up the magazine in front of him turned side ways to make it look as though he were looking at a playboy centerfold. 

"Ew…" Rory scrunched her face. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Well you caught me; some of these pictures are just… mmmm." He moaned as he ogled the picture in front of him.

Choosing to ignore him, "Let's go, I'm starving." He unwillingly put the magazine down and joined her in the hallway. "Remind me to burn that magazine later."

He smirked. "You're cute. So… where are we going for lunch?"

"The Independence Inn." She knew Tristan was going to take a crack at this.

"Oh really," he looked at her slyly, "You want me as the main course huh? Honestly Mary, I thought you were classier than that." He teased. "I would much rather you have me for dessert. I think you'd enjoy it better." He winked at her.

"Oh shut up. My mom works at the Independence Inn and I called there earlier and told Sookie to whip us up something for lunch."

"Sookie… she's the one that catered that party?"

"Yep."

"Mmm… I can't wait, her cooking is so… how can I say this mildly… orgasmic."

She laughed at him. "Mildly huh? Hey, do you mind if we walk there, I just really feel like walking right now?" Rory was having a hard time blocking away what she saw today and thought some fresh air would help. "I could show you the town better if we walk."

"Yeah… sure." He could sense something was wrong.

"Are you ok, 'cause if you're not… we could do this another time?"

"No, I'm fine… just extremely hungry." She half-lied as she rubbed her stomach.

"Well we better get some food in that tummy then."

"Yes… please."

On the walk to the Inn, Rory showed Tristan the few landmarks and famous spots that Stars Hallow was known for. This quaint little town was beginning to grow on Tristan. He wondered what it would have been like to grow up in a town like this. 

"And that's Ms. Patty's Dance Studio… I took ballet lessons there once upon a time, but I totally stunk… so any dreams of becoming a ballerina were shattered. I was heartbroken…," pretending to be in deep thought, "I still don't think I'm over it." She playfully frowned.

"Yeah, I know how you feel." 

"What?" She grinned.

"Ok, what I'm about to tell you… must not be repeated." Rory's eyes began to glisten as she waited to hear Tristan's deep dark secret. "Promise me Rory… I'm not kidding either." He mocked seriousness.

"Promise, cross my heart," she crossed her heart with her hand. He looked hesitant. "C'mon… tell me."

He looked around them making sure the coast was clear. "When I was four my mother made me take ballet lessons and I have to admit… I kinda enjoyed it. But like you, I also had two left feet. Plus, when my father found out about it he wasn't too keen on the idea."

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. 

He smiled appreciatively. "I knew you'd enjoy picturing me in leotards Mary… but don't let your imagination keep you away from the real thing."

She was quiet for a moment as she pictured Tristan wearing leotards and then she busted out laughing at him. He started laughing too, but when he stopped she was still laughing and he noticed she had tears in her eyes. 

He became a little embarrassed. "Well it's not _that funny Rory."_

"Oh yes it is!" Still laughing, her sides and her cheeks were beginning to hurt.

"Hey that's enough out of you." 

Catching her breath, "Sorry," She tried to straighten her face. "I'm not so sure you should have trusted me with this information."

"Rory." He playfully threatened.

"It's way too juicy to keep to myself Tristan, I have to tell someone… I **need** to tell someone… As a matter of fact, I **must** tell someone." She looked around for someone, anyone…

Tristan wasn't having it so he swiftly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Hey wha- put me down Tristan!"

"You promised Rory." He said coolly. "And if you can't keep your promise you're just gonna have to suffer the consequences."

"You honestly think that I can keep a promise. You obviously know nothing about me Tristan." She teased. "Put me down." She said calmly.

"No." He said simply as he was looking for somewhere to throw her. "Where's a good mud puddle when you need one?"  
  


"Tristan! Put me down now!" She started wriggling around.

"Nope." He recalled from her short tour of the town- the lake with the bridge and headed straight for it.

"Tristan, where do you think you're going?" The path started to look familiar and she began to panic. "Tristan, seriously. **Put me down."**

"Oh, I will Mary." He laughed.

He neared the start of the bridge and suddenly stopped. 

Jess and Shane were making out on the bridge when Jess heard Rory's voice. He quickly stopped kissing Shane leaving her all agitated again. When he looked in the direction it was coming from, he saw Rory being carried by a familiar boy. 

"Tristan this is sooo not funny. Put me down now!"

Jess started to stand up; briefly thinking that maybe she needed his help. Shane huffed loudly.

"Looks like we've got ourselves an audience." Tristan smirked.

"Wha-" Rory looked behind her and saw Jess with Shane. She whispered to Tristan. "Please put me down." 

He heard the seriousness in her voice and put her down. 

Jess caught her eyes and they were instantly glued to each other. For a brief moment, it felt as though they were the only ones on the bridge. Both feeling the same gut wrenching feeling of seeing the other with someone that wasn't them. Rory broke the gaze and Jess felt empty again. 

Rory began fiddling with the hem of her shirt and then started tucking imaginary fallen strands of hair behind her ear. She felt awkward. Why did she feel like she was cheating on Jess? She began to compose herself as she remembered the sight she saw earlier this morning when she walked in on Jess and Shane. Her confidence came back and she now had a smug look on her face.

"Hey Jess." She turned to Tristan. "You remember Jess right?"

"No." He said not caring to remember him.

Rory stared at Tristan giving him a warning look. He didn't know what was going on so he just agreed silently… to help her out.

Pretending to think, "From the party right?" He said in a monotone voice. 

"Yeah… the party," A flash of Jess kissing her suddenly popped in her head. She looked Jess in the eyes… he still hadn't said a word and she couldn't read him. 

Tristan noticed she needed some saving since the third and fourth wheels in this party were obviously mute. He glanced over at Rory. "So I thought you said you were starving."

"Oh… right, yeah… let's go." Out of nowhere, Rory surprised herself but not more than she surprised Tristan. She held on to his arm bringing herself closer to him as they turned and left behind a confused Jess.

Jess felt a twinge of jealousy seep out from the deep, deep, deep depths of his soul. Since when did Rory start hanging out with this guy? She never mentioned she was friends with him and from what he gathered from her, she detested the guy… and Tristan had a thing for her; at least that's what she told him Dean had said. 

Once out of Jess' sight, she released her grip from Tristan's arm. Tristan didn't say a word on the way to the Inn and neither did Rory.

**`**~// Independence Inn \\~**`**

Rory and Tristan entered the Inn and walked up to the front desk.

"Independence Inn, Michel speaking." Michel was on the phone.

"Hey Michel. Do you know where my mom's at?" Rory interrupted.

Michel held up one finger in front of Rory signaling for her to 'wait one sec.'

"I'm sorry, but we are completely booked… the 21st? Please hold… I"m sorry, but we are completely booked… the 25th? Let me check… I'm sorry, but we are completely booked… the-."

Rory couldn't wait any longer, this was liable to take forever and she was starving. She led Tristan to the kitchen.

Lorelai was standing near the coffee machine fixing her a cup.

"Hi mom."

"Hey Sweetie." Lorelai's face instantly lit up when she saw her daughter. She put her arm around her and gave her a tight squeeze. She looked at the boy standing near the doorway.

"And this must be the elusive Tristan."

"Ms. Gilmore." He took his cue and held out his hand to Lorelai.

Confused, Lorelai looked at her daughter. "And what am I supposed to do with that?" She asked Rory in a lowered voice, but purposely loud enough for Tristan to hear.

"I think you're supposed to shake it." Rory answered, mimicking her mother's voice.

"Huh…" She shook his hand. "Please, please, _pleease call me Lorelai."_

Tristan smiled finally knowing where Rory gets it all.

"Sook, they're here." 

Sookie turned around from the stove. "Hi my little chickadee… oh and her handsome friend." She looked at Lorelai. "Isn't he handsome," she was grinning wildly. 

Rory gave her mother a 'make her stop' look "Yeah, Sook he is." She in turn gave Sookie a 'stop you're embarrassing Rory' look.

Tristan extended his hand to her. "So you're Sookie… May I say, that you are the most amazing chef. You're cooking is divine."

Sookie was on cloud nine. "Why thank you." She giggled. "When have you ever tasted my cooking?" 

"Tristan was at you're pre-wedding bash Sookie." Rory chimed in sweetly.

"Oh reeally, well thank you for coming… did you get a chance to taste my chocolate raspberry tarts."

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. And just thinking about it makes my mouth water." He absentmindedly glanced at Rory. 

Rory gave him a 'what? gross look' and he quickly snapped out of it. After all, he was in the presence of her mother.

"You two can have a seat in the dinning area and we'll have the food out to you soon." Sookie said.

Rory and Tristan took a seat at the table that was prepared for them. 

"Wow, this feels kinda weird doesn't it?" Rory asked.

"Still thinking it's a date?"

"Well, yeah now it really feels like one, I mean I didn't expect them to fix this table up for us. I just figured we'd eat in the kitchen standing up or something." She joked.

"Oh really." He smirked.

He was anxious to find out what the deal was with that guy at the bridge.

"So I guess you're going to make me ask you about that guy aren't you?"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Rory, I could tell you were trying to make him jealous."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do… you… grabbing onto my arm like you actually liked me… I mean don't get me wrong, you can do that any time you'd like… but I'd like to have a heads up on what's going on first."

"Fine. Yes. I was trying to make him jealous… I'm sorry… for using you like that. It was wrong. It's just-." She stopped herself. "Never mind, you wouldn't want to know." She didn't want to bore him with her problems.

"What? Tell me."

"Well you see, me and Jess have this thing, well… _had actually. We became really close after I broke up with Dean. He was sorta the reason why I broke up with Dean… Anyway, the night of Sookie's party, after you had left, he kissed me and well… I ran."_

"You ran?" Suddenly remembering their kiss at Madeline's party, "Do you have a thing for running after a guy kisses you?"

She started to remember too. She completely forgot. "Oh my god." Silence. "… I'm a freak."

He laughed at her. "Yes you certainly are."

She glared at him.

"What, I'm agreeing with you?"

"I am such a freak. I've had three kisses from three guys in my whole life… and the first kisses with them resulted in me running away." She thought for a bit. "Hey you know what?"

"What?"

"You should feel special, 'cause you're the only one that I kissed and ran out on, but didn't steal anything in the process."

"What?"

"Well when Dean first kissed me, I was holding a box of corn starch and after he kissed me I ran out with it. And when Jess kissed me I was holding his cd in my hand and I ran out with that… so yeah… don't you feel special?"

He laughed at the girl. "You are very odd Rory."

"Yeah… I am aren't I? I'm _freakishly_ odd." She whimpered at her own revelation.

"It's good though, I like you freakishly odd." He assured her.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you."

Nearing the end of their meal Rory's pager started beeping.

**A/N:** *smiles evilly* REVIEW… please?


	13. Trees Cry Too!

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** ~***starbelly***~ You are the sweetest, thank you, I took your advice and I feel much better now… and look at that I even updated. This chapter's for you! ~***Kate*~ Don't scare me like that… I don't know what I would do if you went BLIND! I'd probably stop writing ;) ~*****Nancy*~ you're forgiven! And about the Friday night dinners, I don't think I could write them good enough, so I just mention that they go to them ~***laura** and **Tabbie***~ I too hope it's a literati ending! ~***katem-23***~ cliffhangers are evil aren't they?… don't you love the effects of it?! ~***Angel** **Monroe***~ Yay, thanks for reviewing! ~***Alpha***~ hehehe! Wouldn't that be fun! Hmmm…**

Rory looked at her pager. It was Lane.

"I'll be right back," she told Tristan and went to the front desk to use the phone.

"Hello?" A panicked Lane answered the phone.

"Lane?" Rory shielded the side of her face with her hand as she leaned onto the desk to fend off the shooting glares coming from Michel.

"Rory!"

"What's the matter Lane?"

"Help!"

"Ok… Lane… I'm gonna need more than that."

"You know how I'm meeting the rest of the band tonight right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, _help_ me Rory!"

"Again… could you elaborate what you need help with?"

"I don't know. I just need _help_."

"Lane."

"Rory!" Lane cried.

"Lane calm down… you'll be fine, you'll do great… you'll play for them and they'll totally love you… and more importantly… Dave'll love you." She said thoughtfully.

"You honestly think they'll ask me to be apart of their band?"

"Yes, and if I'm wrong then that's their loss. You're too good for them anyway."

"I'm so nervous."

"All part of the process. Once you start beating on your drums that feeling will go away… and you _will_ _rock _Lane… because wanna rock. It's you're life's calling remember?"

"You're right. You're such a good pep-talker… Do they have an actual profession for that because I'd think you'd be the perfect candidate? What would I do without you?"

"You probably wouldn't be rocking." She joked.

"He's cute isn't he?"

"Yes he is." She loved her boy crazy best friend. 

Lane sighed. "Ok, I think I'm sane again… thankyouthankyouthankyou."

"Anytime."

"I'll drop by later on tonight so I can tell you how everything went."

"Yes, you better."

"Bye."

"Bye."

**`**~// Outside Gilmore Home: Late Afternoon \\~**`**

Tristan and Rory were standing awkwardly on the front porch, both not quite knowing how to end the hanging out session.

"Well this was fun wasn't it?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah… it was. We could even do it again sometime."

Tristan looked at her completely mystified.

"What? It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be."

"Thanks a lot." He was slightly offended.

"I'm just glad that your head deflated enough to the point where I can actually stand to be around you." She smiled sweetly. 

"Again, thanks a lot." 

Awkward silence proceeds.

"So." Rory looked down and kicked an imaginary pebble on the porch.

"So."

"Why is this so weird?" Rory proclaimed yet again.

"I know right." He agreed with her and he wanted to end the weirdness too. "Well Mary… I guess I should be going." He started to back away from her still facing her. "This was fun…"

"Yup… fun."

"Bye Mary." He turned around and made his way to his car.

"Thanks Tristan."

He nodded at her know exactly what she was thanking him for. "Anytime Rory."

"Really?" She liked the prospect of having Tristan as a good friend.

"Yeah and hopefully we can hang out again… catch a movie or whatever… an afternoon matinee of course, wouldn't want it to feel like a date or anything." He teased.

She smiled at him. She waited until he left the driveway before she went into the house. _Well that wasn't so awful._

**`**~// Gilmore Home: Night \\~**`**

Rory was sitting on the porch couch reading, waiting for Lane to arrive. She heard some footsteps running up the lawn and she immediately stood up and anxiously waited for her friend to reach her.

Lane was out of breath. Rory grinned at her crazy friend.

"How'd it go?!"

"Oh my god… it was fabulous, I've never rocked liked that in my life! It felt sooo great Rory!"

The girls shrieked loudly.

Lorelai heard the shrieking outside and instantly knew Lane was finally here. She joined the two giddy girls on the porch.

"I take it things went well huh." She nudged Lane giving her the approving eye.

Lane nodded modestly. 

"Eee!" Lorelai shrieked and threw her arm around Lane and Rory and they all shrieked happily ever after…

"One problem though." Lane said.

"Oh no…" Lorelai pouted.

"What am I going to tell my mom?"

Lorelai noticed the worried look on Lane's face. The things this girl had to go through. "Oh don't fret, we'll figure something out. We always do right?" Lorelai encouraged.

Lane sadly nodded.

Rory tried to change the subject to something less gloomy, "So… how's cute Dave."

Lane's sad face quickly faded. "Oh he's still cute." She said proudly.

Lorelai suddenly realized something about herself… she needed a man.

**`**~// Jess' Room \\~**`**

The dim moonlight entered the darkness of Jess' room. He was thankful he was alone in the apartment; he wouldn't want Luke to take pleasure on his sullen disposition. He lay on his bed with both hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling as if he was beckoning it to fall down on him and end the agony that was his life. For once in his life he was in a melancholy mood and he definitely hated it.

Jess finally lost it… and this only happened for one girl and one girl only… that damn Rory Gilmore. He was jealous, but this was a completely different jealousy from when Dean was her boyfriend. He loved toying with Dean, he never really fought back, but this Tristan character irked him. He had this air of smugness and arrogant-ness about him. He fought against the urge to wipe that smirk off his face when he said he didn't remember him from the party. 

Earlier today, Shane took him to the bridge because she said she had something important to tell him. *She was pregnant.* (*A/N: Just kidding!!). She didn't have anything important to tell him though. She just lured him there so she could make-out with him without any interruptions. He was secretly hoping she would dump him and end the misery so he didn't have to do it himself. For some odd reason he hated being the dumper, which was why he was prolonging his suffering by still being with the girl. 

He created his own hell… he started it all… with that damn kiss_. It's all Rory's fault. She just had to run away didn't she?_ Who was he kidding, it was his fault. She wasn't ready. Maybe she wasn't over her break up with Dean. Or maybe she's a fickle girl and she likes Tristan now. Or… maybe she just doesn't feel anything for him.

But maybe she did… _What was with that moment we had at the bridge today?_ He laughed at himself_. I'm_ _thinking like a puss that imagines **moments** with a girl he's taken a liking to._

The truth… he was missing Rory something fierce. He felt some kind of void. It was weird. How did she have that effect on him? Can someone explain that? It was definitely a first. She filled his jaded and cynical life with all that is Rory and he never wanted it to end. It was nice. Experiencing this girl was something special. She had so many wonderful things to offer and he was lucky enough that she wanted to offer them to him… the punk, a.k.a the bad seed, the rotten apple in the bunch. She saw past it all and actually stayed long enough to experience what _he_ had to offer. 

He was going to do it… tomorrow. Yes, he was going to dump Shane tomorrow. And he was going to repair what little friendship he had left with Rory, if it wasn't too late…

He looked at his alarm clock. It was only ten o'clock… on a Saturday night and here he was… alone with his thoughts. _This can't be right… thinking about a girl for this long._ He had to get out and do something. The _down in the dumps_ mood was just too depressing, if that's even possible. He flicked the light on his night stand on and he sat up. He looked around for his shoes and when he found them he slipped them on. 

He wandered around Stars Hollow for an hour. Stars Hollow in an hour… wandering… not possible, he spent say ten minutes wandering and the rest at the lake by the Inn. There were only a few people out there that night. He stayed his distance until they went inside the Inn so that he could have the whole peacefulness of the lake to himself. He sat at his favorite spot next to the big Weeping Willow tree. He loved the tree ever since Rory confided in him that it was her favorite tree. 

**`**~// Flashback \\~**`**

It was a sunny day and yet it was still very chilly. Rory and Jess spent a Saturday afternoon at the lake behind the Inn. They were both on their backs staring at the Weeping Willow's leaves swaying in the wind. 

Rory turned to Jess with one arm bent so that her hand could hold her head up. Jess suddenly found himself lost in her blue eyes and he never wanted to be found.

"You want to know a secret." She said girlishly.

_Ah she speaks._ Jess went all Romeo in his head. He was losing it, definitely losing it. There was no hope for him.

"This should be interesting."

Rory turned her gaze behind her. "You see that shed over there?"

Jess looked in the direction that was instructed. "Yeah."

"My mom and I used to live there."

He was intrigued. "Really."

"Uh-huh. My mom had to get away from my grandparents and somehow we ended up in this town. I was just a baby too… luckily she found this Inn and the woman who owns it took us in and gave my mom a job as a maid along with a roof over our heads."

"She must be a nice woman. You guys were lucky." 

"Yeah, she's great…" Jess noticed she seemed to be deeply thinking about something else, "My mom's the greatest though, I know it sounds kinda funny, us living in a shed… but my mom really did everything to make it feel like home." She laid her head back down on the grass and went back to the watching the leaves. Only now they were swaying like crazy. 

Unbeknownst to Rory, she left Jess yearning to see her eyes again. He loved the way they flickered when she talked about the things and the people she cherished and loved to no end.

"You wanna know something else?" 

"Sure." He wanted to know everything there is about this girl. 

"I used to read to this tree." She waited for him to start laughing.

He laughed sincerely on the inside as he grinned at her. The thought of Rory as a little kid reading to a tree was just priceless. She never ceased to amaze him. "Huh." He hated being monosyllabic at times, but that was all that would come out. 

"What, you're not going to laugh and poke fun at me?"

"No… why would I do that?" He was slightly offended.

She looked at him and he was once again blessed with seeing her eyes. "You're losin' it Jess."

"Jesus… am I that mean?" He asked seriously as he uneasily ruffled his hair.

She noticed the sudden hurt wash over his face and she felt bad. "No, I-I just, you're not mean Jess. You're anything _but_ mean… to me."

He was the one to break the gaze this time. Rory found herself suddenly missing his beautiful brown eyes. She could gaze into his eyes forever if she wasn't so timid around him. He might be able to read how she felt, for her eyes alone… could tell all.

She tried to get herself out of the hole she was in. She propped herself up again so that she was facing Jess and forced him to look back at her. "You wanna know why I used to read to the tree?" 

He shrugged. Much to her displeasure, he didn't linger long enough in her gaze. She could tell he was still upset.

She disguised her voice in that of Jess'. "Why sure Rory, I'm just dying to know." She tried to sound cynical like the way Jess sounded when he was being smart with either Luke or her mother.

It worked, a playful smirk emerged and he was back in the blue pools of Rory's eyes. "Why did you read to the tree Rory?" He smiled his sweetest for her.

"Well Jess," she mocked a-matter-of-factly tone, "When my mom told me that this tree was a Weeping Willow…," a little embarrassed at what she was about to share with him, she moved her gaze away from his eyes to anywhere else. "I thought that the tree actually wept… so I tried to cheer it up by reading to it." She had to know what he was thinking so she embarrassingly went back to staring into his eyes. And to her surprise he looked somewhat in awe.

She was dying to know what he was thinking, the silence was too unbearable. She couldn't believe she was sharing this with him. She would have never told Dean this; he'd think she was a moron and laugh at her. She couldn't take it anymore. "Well… say something."

Jess _was_ in awe, this girl was just amazing. He had never met anyone quite like her. And he hated that he was speechless. He couldn't form any words.

Rory became fully embarrassed now so she laid her head on the grass yet again. "I know… I was a weird kid," trying to recover from her humiliation.

It was his turn to prop himself up. "No," was all that came out of his mouth. He rolled his eyes at his inability to say anything more and knew that whatever else was going to come out of his mouth would be remotely unmoronic. He had to think.

She looked at him expectantly. But she seemed to have waited what seemed like forever for him to continue, that is if he did have more to say.

"I-I mean… I think that's great." He didn't let himself down… he felt like a complete dumb ass. He grinned stupidly at her. _I think that's great…what the hell? He thought to himself as he saw the baffled look on her face. He gave up and violently but gently at the same time, laid back down with the backside of his hand on his forehead._

She started laughing and he too soon joined in. It was funny. Hilarious even… that she had this affect on Jess. 

**`**~// End Flashback \\~**`**

There he goes again… droning on and on about Rory. He needed to see a psychiatrist or something. It was official… Jess has gone insane.

**A/N:** Yup… no cliffhanger here…

You know what to do… right? Don't make me say it… I hate saying it… fine, you talked me into it… REVIEW!! please… 


	14. HELLO Mr Coffee Man!

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** ~***Kate & ****Angel **Monroe***~ With Kate's subtle coffee mug idea, I've decided to take both of you guys' advice and let Lorelai in on a little action too! ;) ~*****Jamie*~ Whoopsie, hehe, muh bad, thanks for letting me know! Thanks again guys for reviewing, I love, love, love, reading your reviews! =D  
  
**

**`**~// Luke's Diner — Sunday Morning \\~**`**

Lorelai confidently stepped into the diner with a wicked smile on her face. She wore her best work attire which consisted of a modest short black skirt and a sexy sleek light blue button up blouse with just the right amount of cleavage shown. She debated on whether to leave two buttons unbuttoned or just one. She settled for two, which definitely wasn't too much at all. The ensemble was perfectly topped off with her favorite pair of black pumps. She was also very pleased with how her hair turned out for she took an extra long time making sure every little curl was perfect.

Luke was at the counter filling a customer's coffee mug totally unaware of what was about to take place in the next few minutes. Lorelai stopped at the doorway and waited for Luke to notice her- which certainly didn't take long at all. She held his gaze as she walked up to the counter. She planned everything out… from the sexy walk up to the counter to the proposition she was going to make. 

He saw the weird look on her face, he's seen it before when she had something evil planned. He gave her a curious look that quickly turned sour followed by a loud snort. As Lorelai tried to sexily walk up to the counter her ankle turned outward and her heel broke. She was completely mortified. 

Luke quickly ran to her side. He couldn't help but laugh at her. The look on her face just then was truly entertaining.

She looked at him disgustedly and slapped his arm. "Quit laughing!"

Luke couldn't stop. "I'm sorry." He struggled to say through his laughter.

"Oh nooo!" She looked down at her feet and noticed that the heel broke off of her pump. "These are my favorite pumps too." She whined.

She scowled at Luke who was still laughing. "You're mean." She poked him hard and picked up her broken pump and sat on the barstool at the counter. Luke soon followed as he desperately tried to swallow his laughter and he was once again behind the counter. 

Lorelai laid her forehead down on the counter feeling completely humiliated. Luke was grinning madly, still fighting to contain his laugh because he didn't want to make her feel _too bad.  _

Without seeing Luke's face, she knew what it looked like and she knew that he was holding his laugh in. "Luke… just get it over with already." She muttered against the countertop. 

With her permission, Luke let it out; as a matter of fact he seemed to have let it _all_ out because it took him about a good minute for him to finish.

She picked her head up when he had finally quieted down. 

"Here let me get you some coffee." He smirked.

"Is that all it takes to get you to willingly give me coffee without any added lectures or protests?" 

"Yep… that'll do it." He laughed.

She shook her head at him and picked up her cup of coffee. "You're an evil, evil man Luke. You're lucky I didn't sprain my ankle or anything 'cause I would definitely sue you in a flash… and this diner would be all mine…" She smiled evilly and suddenly got excited as a thought popped in her head. "Ooo and the coffee, yes the coffee… would be all mine too." 

Luke shook his head at her.

"Come to think of it Luke… my ankle is really starting to hurt now… oooh ow." She smiled devilishly at him.

He rolled his eyes at her. "So, are you gonna tell me what that was all about?"

"What, I-I have no idea what you are talking about?" She said sneakily.

"Uh-huh." He grunted.

Before he could press any further, she quickly stood up from her stool. "Well, I really must be going." She picked up her broken pump. "I've gotta get a new pair of shoes before I go to work." She turned and hobbled toward the diner door while adding some teasing pain sobs. "Ow… Ow… Eh Ow… " She whimpered dramatically.

Luke shook his head again at the crazy woman.

"Bye Luuke." She flirted.

**`**~// Upstairs: Jess' Room \\~**`**

Jess forced himself to get out of bed. He sauntered his way to the bathroom to take a shower. He was tired. He had another one of those so called restless nights all thanks to Rory. He hoped he wouldn't start to hate her for putting him in this never ending funk he was in. Nah… he could never hate her.

When he finished showering he put on a black long sleeve shirt and over that he threw on a red t-shirt. After slipping on his khaki cords and shoes he headed out the door to work downstairs. 

"Mornin' Luke." He greeted as he picked up a wash rag and started to wipe off the counter. 

Luke looked up from the register and took in his appearance.

"You look like crap." He deadpanned.

Jess glared at him. _Fuck you_. That was the first thought that came to mind, but what actually came out of his mouth was less harsh. "Thanks Uncle Luke." He said sarcastically.

"I told you to never call me that." He warned. "What's the matter anyway?" Jess looked tired.

"Nothin'." With that said he picked up the coffee pot and made his rounds filling empty cups.

Rory walked in the diner quickly scanning the room for her mother but instead she found Jess in the far corner filling someone's cup with coffee. She looked away before any eye contact could be made and casually walked to the counter.

"Hey Luke."

"Hi Rory."

"I was supposed to meet my mom here…" She looked questioningly at Luke.

"She had a little mishap with her shoe, so she left to get a new pair before she had to get to work."

Rory laughed. "What happened?" Crazy things were always happening to her mother.

"I'm still not quite sure how it happened but her heel broke off when she was walking up to the counter…," they shared a knowing look because they both knew these type of things only happened to Lorelai. "So, you're still staying for breakfast right?"

"Um…" She unconsciously looked in Jess' direction and their eyes connected. Rory quickly looked away. "Uh, yeah." She was hungry and she wasn't going to starve just because Jess was in the room.

"Good, what can I get for ya?"

She sat down on a stool. "I'll have some pancakes with a side of scrambled cheese eggs."

"Ok…" Luke poured her a cup of coffee. "Coming riiight up." He smiled at her and went to the back to prepare her meal.

She stared at her cup and then took a couple sips before she put it back down to stare at it again. She felt like ignoring Jess today.

Jess quietly watched every move she made. _God Rory, subtleness is definitely not your forte. He took a gamble and went behind the counter to place the coffee pot back on the warmer. She still didn't look at him._

He even stood in front of her and waited… yet still nothing.

Rory hated it when he baited her. She knew he was waiting for her to be the first one to speak.

She finally looked at him. "What?"

"You can't say a simple _hi Jess_?"

She gave him a hostile look. "Hi Jess," and went back to staring at her cup of coffee.

"Rory I-" He was cut short.

"Jess!" Shane called as she walked in the diner. _Damnit__ Shane._

Rory rolled her eyes to herself. She really wanted to get up and leave before she was forced to watch them eat each others faces.

"Jess…" Shane sadly whimpered as she walked behind the counter to Jess. She had tears in her eyes.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. He instantly put an arm around her. "What's wrong?"

Rory watched the whole display with uncontrolled jealousy. She could never get use to seeing them together. 

"My turtle died." 

"What… Gizmo died?" Jess was surprised. He bought that turtle for her just a couple days ago. She wouldn't shut up until he got it for her. _Damn. Would it be such a bad thing if I still break it off with her today? _

_Where's Luke with my food._ Rory really needed something else to focus on. She was in luck. Luke emerged from the kitchen with a plate full of food with her name on it. 

"Here you are." Luke set the food down in front of her.

"Thanks Luke."

"No problem." He then noticed the couple hugging.

"Something wrong Jess?"

Jess turned around to face him. "Her turtle died."

It wasn't the least bit funny, but both Luke and Rory wanted to laugh at the face Jess made when he said it. For some odd reason unknown to both Luke and Rory, Jess seemed to have been more saddened by the turtle's death than the girl who was crying.

"Why don't you take her outside to get some fresh air?" Luke told him.

Jess was in need of some fresh air too. Things just never wanted to go his way.

**`**~// ****Kim****Home****: Lane's room — Early Afternoon \\~**`**

"God that's so sad." Lane replied when Rory told her about Shane's turtle's demise. "Did you laugh?"

Rory shook her head no.

"Did you want to?"

Rory nodded her head yes.

They giggled. 

"So what'd you want to do today?" Lane asked.

"How about we go shopping in Hartford?"

"Hmmm… okay, sounds good to me."

"Let's go to the Inn so I can ask my mom if we could take her car."

**`**~// Independence Inn \\~**`**

"Hey Michel." Rory greeted as she and Lane walked passed the front desk to the kitchen. 

"Hey Sookie." 

"Hey girls… are ya hungry?"

"No, we're just looking for my mom."

"Oh, she's in the back storage room."

The girls walked to the back.

"What are you doing mom?"

They found Lorelai seated on a box fiddling with a broken pump.

"Oh hey sweets, hey Lane." She looked back down at the pump. "I'm trying to glue the heel back on… what's up?" She put her shoe down and stood up straightening her clothes.

"We wanted to know if we could borrow the Jeep so we could do some shopping in Hartford."

"Um yeah, sure… I'll just catch a ride from Sookie later." She retrieved her purse from a desk cabinet and took out the car keys and some other necessities that they could use. "Take the cell phone and here's some spending cash."

"Thanks mom." Rory and Lane started to walk out of the kitchen.

"Oh hey wait!" Sookie picked up a bag of cookies she set aside for them and handed it to Rory.

"Mmm, thanks Sookie."

"Have fun and drive safe!" Lorelai ordered as they left the kitchen.

"We will!"

**`**~// Hartford Mall: Coffee Shop/Bookstore \\~**`**

The girls were sitting at a table where a number of magazines were laid out. 

"How about this hairstyle?" Lane asked.

Rory took a look at it. "Eh." 

Lane wanted to do something drastic with her hair. She couldn't decide on whether to chop it off or dye it a color that would make her mother want to kill her.

She was in rebel mode and wanted to do something to tick her mother off. She had just found out that her mom wanted her to go to some Christian College when she graduated- a college that she definitely wasn't interested in going to.

Lane took another look at the picture. She scrunched her face at it. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

The two were so engrossed in the magazines in front of them that they hadn't noticed the guy standing over them.

"Hello ladies."

Rory looked up surprised to see him. "Tristan… what are you doing here?" 

He held a puppy book in front of her. 

"Needed to buy this book for my little sister. She wants a puppy for her birthday and I needed an idea of what kind she might want."

"Aw, how sweet." She teased. She had to get used to the idea that Tristan was more than the conceited rich boy that he played.

"May I." He pointed to the chair.

"Yeah sure, you don't have to ask Tristan."

He looked at Rory's companion. "Hey Lane." 

"Hi Tristan."

"You guys look like you've been busy." He quickly flipped through one of the many magazines on their table.

"Yeah, Lane wants to piss her mom off."

"Oh yeah?"

"The key word here is 'wants', I don't think I'll actually go through with it." Lane expressed her doubt. "I'm mainly an all talk and no action kinda girl." She informed Tristan.

"Good to know." 

"Tristan." Rory scolded.

"What? All I said was 'Good to know'…I promise you Rory, there was nothing implied." He laughed.

"Uh-huh." She didn't believe him.

"So what are you guys doing after this?" Tristan asked.

"Well, we've already finished shopping around so we'll probably grab something to eat and head home." Rory answered.

"How about I come along with… I'm kinda hungry myself." 

"Um, yeah sure, we don't really know any good restaurants around here so… yeah we could use you to show us one." She teased.

"See Lane, I told Rory that I'm not just another pretty face… I can be useful too."

"Oh boy." Rory rolled her eyes at him.

He replied with only a smirk.

A/N: Hey guys… just wanted to know if you think this story is dragging on, I can't believe I've written all these chapters so far! I've got a couple more chapters in mind, but if you want me to keep this story going I could probably go on for another ten chapters, maybe even more… let me know what you think!And don't forget - reviews are always welcomed! ;)


	15. Jess Cornholio

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah 

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N: **~***To**** everyone who reviewed*~ YAY! I can't believe I broke 200, reviews that is. I'm so happy!! And for my gratitude, here's the next chapter…**

**`**~// Gilmore Home: About a Week Later — April 20, Saturday Morning \\~**`**

The Gilmore girls were sitting at the kitchen table eating their fruit loops; both fully displayed in all their bed head glory and mismatched jamies.

"Hey. Can I ask you something?" 

"Ask away." Rory said as she put a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"What do you think of Luke?"

Rory snorted suddenly spitting the contents in her mouth everywhere. 

"Eew, now that's just gross Rory." Lorelai whined then started to laugh hysterically, pointing at Rory, "Eeew, you've got milk coming out of your nose!" She pretended to get up. "Let me get my camera!" 

"Mom!" Rory laughed wiping her nose.

"Oh if only Jess could've seen that!"

Rory suddenly quieted down. 

"Ops." Lorelai blurted out suddenly remembering that they've hating Jess for the past two weeks. She had to admit she missed the little punk hanging around the house. 

"No, its fine," she wanted to get off the touchy subject of Jess, "So Luke?" Lorelai nodded a yes. "Aw mom like's Luke." Rory tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Yeah hun, I think I do." She smiled gleefully.

"I think that's great. You know he's had a thing for you forever."

"Whatever!" She said in mock disbelief.

"How could you not have known that? Everyone in Stars Hollow and the three towns over know that Luke likes you."

Lorelai became starry-eyed. "Yeah… he does, doesn't he?"

Rory rolled her eyes at her. "So what's your plan?" She asked, knowing her mother all too well.

"What ever do you mean child?"

"You know exactly what I mean." Suddenly the light bulb turned on in Rory's head. "Hey, that's why you wore that sexy number into Luke's last week before you went to work." She ridiculed.

"You're insane." She attempted to brush off her daughter's accusations but failed miserably.

"Ha! I caught you. Come to think of it; you were showing a little cleavage too." Rory started laughing.

"Shut up Milk-Snot-Girl!" Lorelai joined in the laughter. "You no longer hold the title of Lorelai's Favorite Daughter. It's has been officially revoked."

"That's okay, it was worth it."

"Evil, evil child… huh, I knew you were mine." She said in true Lorelai fashion.

"So, tell me your plan."

"I told you. I have no plan."

"Yeah whatever. You'll tell me later and somehow I'll get sucked in on it too."

"I would never… " She started to say dramatically, "…well yeah."

"Mom!"

"I'll give you back the title of Lorelai's Favorite Daughter!" She tempted.

Rory shook her head at her mother. "You're nutty."

"Ah, that's why you love me."

After a couple hours of lazing around the house with her mother, Rory went to her room to study for a bit when her thoughts brought her to a time when she and Jess were studying together.

**`**~// Flashback — Luke's Diner: Study Session \\~**`**

Rory quietly studied Jess as he studied the assignment laid out in front of him. He had been doing exceptionally well ever since she had agreed to study with him. He was a smart kid, he just needed some encouragement sprinkled with Rory on top. 

"Hey… can I ask you something?" She smiled daringly.

Jess looked up from his notebook. "You just love asking me _somethings_don't you?" He replied resting his chin on his hand looking at her intently, remembering their little slumber party a couple of days ago.

She glared at him.

"Fine. What?" He smirked.

"Do you think we have a close friendship?"

He chuckled. "What?"

"I mean are you that good a friend to me to tell me if I had some spinach in my teeth?"

"Well first off, when do you ever eat spinach?"

"Jess. Think hypothetical here, please."

"Right. Sorry." He mocked. "Of course I'd tell you…" He gave her a wicked smile, "But not right away."

"What?!" 

"Hey I could get some laughs out of it." 

"You're so mean." She smirked at him. "Well what if I had a booger hanging from my nose… would you tell me then?" She smiled big.

"Ah Geeze." He shuddered at the thought. "The day you have a booger hanging from your nose is the day I'll kiss Luke on the lips."

"Gross, you better pray that I never have a booger hanging from my nose in your company 'cause I will hold you to it."

"O Kay, can we please get off this subject… you and boogers… gah… not allowed." He made a revolted face cutting the air with his hand to prove his point.

"Jess." She whined, actually wanting an answer to her dim-witted question. 

"What?" He whined back. "I don't want to picture you with a booger hangin' from you nose Rory. It's just not right."

She laughed. "What?"

"Rorry pleease, can we move on to something else… I don't want this conversation going into bodily functions and what not. You're tarnishing the perfect image I have of you." He teased with a hint of flirtatiousness added to it.

Her cheeks blushed. And Jess got what he wanted. He loved it.

"Fine. Back to work." She began studying again. Minutes later she looked at Jess again in the same studying manner. 

He felt her eyes on him. "What Rory, you're kinda distracting me here." He joked as he gestured his hands toward the books in front of him. 

"Nothing, I'm just happy we're close." She said semi-seriously.

He scooted his chair next to hers. "Do you feel a hugging moment coming on?" He teased.

She laughed at him. "Noo," She denied and tried to brush the comment off by writing something in her book. Jess saw her blush again and smiled. He could always tell how she felt; her blushes gave her away every time.

Quietly taking her eyes away from her book, she watched as Jess slid his books from across the table so that they were in front of him now. He planned on studying the rest of the night seated next to her. 

"What?" Jess asked innocently.

"What do you think you're doing?" She loved it when he did cute stuff like this.

"Trying to make you _happier_," He replied, in a very modest attempt on his part at being sappy. He would've never been caught dead saying foolish things like that… to any girl, but Rory brought it out of him. She brought out the schmaltziness in Jess. 

"What?" She couldn't believe that something that corny just came out of Jess' mouth. She absolutely adored it. 

"You said you were happy that we're close. So, how's this? Does this make you happy-er" He gave her the sweetest, silliest smile that would make any girl melt.

"You're such a goof ball," she giggled.

"Hey. You should feel special. You're one of the lucky few to experience it and trust me when I say that it won't happen again." She was actually the only one to experience it.

They smiled goofily at each other and went back to studying with Jess comfortably seated close to her. 

**`**~// End Flashback \\~**`**

Rory realized what time it was and remembered she was supposed to meet up with Lane in an hour, so she showered and dressed and headed over to the Lane's.

**`**~// Stars Hollow Town Square — Early Afternoon \\~**`**

"God… I can't wait till summer. All this cold weather is useless unless you've got someone to be with… you know, to cuddle with and all that other cute mushy wintry stuff."

"Yeah you're right. We've got to get ourselves some guys, and soon." Lane said playfully.

Reveling in the coldness around her, "Such a waste…" Rory declared lightheartedly.

"Um, Rory?"

"Yes."

"You're my best friend right?" Lane asked mischievously.

"Yeah." 

"And you would do anything for me right?" She smiled sweetly for Rory.

"Depends."

"Well, I know this is kind of short notice, but Dave asked me to go to the movies with him, Zack and Brian tonight." Rory knew what was going to come next. "And… well, I was wondering if you could come too? I still feel a little awkward being the only girl and all."

"What about your mom? Aren't you scared she'll catch you like last time?"

"Oh, well, that's already been taken care of… see, she's got perfect timing Mama Kim does. She'll be gone the whole day, ironically off to some 'Rock Music is Evil: The Twelve Step Program' Seminar."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know… my mom's gonna kill me if she ever finds out I've been rocking in a band. So? Will you come? Please Rory?" Lane begged.

"Of course I'll go." She told her. She would do anything for Lane.

"Hey if you want, you could bring Tristan."

"Uh yeah… maybe I should."

"Great." She hugged Rory. "Thank you."

She hugged her back. "Looks like somebody's going to have a cuddle buddy soon and it sure isn't going to be me." Rory teased.

Lane grinned. "I hope so… he's so cute."

"Yes he is." She smiled at her loony friend. 

"Ooo look." Lane and Rory stopped walking to look at a sign promoting the next Stars Hollow upcoming event.

"Ah, I can't believe it's already time for the Semi-Annual Adopt-A-Puppy Day." Rory said.

"Oh hey, isn't Tristan looking for a puppy for his little sister?" 

"Yeah, you're right. I'll have to tell him about it… I should call him soon to see if he wants to go to the movies tonight with us. It is kinda short notice."

Rory and Lane stopped at the gazebo to take a rest while Rory called Tristan on her mother's cell phone.

"Hello?" 

"Hey Tristan, its Rory."

"What's up?" 

"How are you?" Rory asked, knowingly stalling. She felt weird all over again.

Tristan laughed lightly. "I'm fine, how 'bout you?"

"Oh I'm good…"

There was a silent pause.

"So… don't get me wrong, I love that you called me Mary, but since _you did do the calling, I suspect there must be a reason."_

"Right… I mean there is… sort of."

Another silent pause on her part.

"And it would be…"

"Well… Lane and I were wondering if you'd like to come to Stars Hollow and hang out with us, maybe see a movie?"

"Wow, can't get enough of me Mary?" Tristan joked.

"Yeah that must be it Tristan, I just can't get enough of you." She joked back.

"We're kinda getting good with this whole friend thing… I mean we'll have hung out together for three consecutive days."

"Well, I mean… you don't hav-."

"No I want to." He said a little too eagerly for his taste. "What time should I be at your house?"

Rory turned to Lane. "What time did the guys want to go?"

"Um, just tell him to come around seven-ish."

"How's seven-ish?" Rory asked Tristan.

"Hmmm seven-ish? Sounds a little like _date_ time to me." He teased.

"Tristan, the ish after the seven completely voids the fact of it being a date time." She teased back completely baffled by what her brain had just produced.

"You're right. I'll see you guys around seven-ish then."

"Bye." She giggled.

"Bye Rory."

**`**~// ****Stars Hollow Town Square**** - Night \\~**`**

Rory and Tristan were walking towards the movie theatre to meet Lane and the others when all of a sudden a blond mutters something directed towards Rory in passing.

"**Freak**."

Rory stopped and turned around. "Excuse me?"

Shane turned around to face Rory. "I'm losing Jess because of you." She said quickly. 

"I'm sorry **what**?!" She couldn't believe this girl had the nerve to talk to her and for that matter accuse her of such a thing. Tristan stood next to Rory with his arms folded seemingly waiting for the next round in this verbal cat fight.

"Are you that dumb, I mean, I thought I was supposed to be the dumb blond here?" She thought about what she had just said. "Wait, that was wrong…," She seemed to be thinking hard, but it hurt too much. "Ah, you're confusing me…"

Rory displayed an astonished look on her face. _What the hell is wrong with this girl? She looked at Tristan and she could tell he was really enjoying this. She smiled at him. Then her smile faded when the blond began to speak again._

"It's like you're always there and he's always looking at you. Why don't you stop following him like a lost puppy?"

"You're cracked!" Rory pulled Tristan by his sleeve and started walking away from the psycho. Tristan wanted more, but he gave into Rory's pull.

"You know he has a thing for you! And you just keep stringing him on!" Feeling defeated, Shane trudged off in the opposite direction.

"God, can you believe that girl?" Rory was fuming.

"You know she may be right." 

"What?"

"That guy's obviously crazy about you… I mean who wouldn't be?" Tristan gave her his winning smirk.

"Shut up."

"I'm serious… you should've seen the dude's face when he saw you with me."

"Dude huh." She cracked.

"Shut up."

"So tell me, what did the _dude's_ face look like?"

"He was definitely jealous… the look he gave me the other day at that bridge, I could almost feel my skin burning. The kid may hide it well but I can see it. I mean when you, well any girl for that matter, is seen with the likes of me, other guys are bound get jealous." He said matter-of-factly.

She rolled her eyes at the nut. "Is that so?" 

The clouds have begun to part; Rory was finally in a happy mood. She kinda liked the realization that Jess was jealous of Tristan, maybe a little too much. She did see the look on his face, and now with the second opinion, it was undeniably a look of jealousy. Although she could attest that he should have nothing to be jealous about… she considered Tristan as a friend and nothing more. She couldn't wipe the smile off of her face the whole night.

When they reached the movie theatre, they saw Lane and the guys waiting in front.

"Hey." Lane said and informally introduced everyone. "Rory, Tristan, this is Dave, Zack and Brian."

Everyone said their 'heys' and 'what's ups'. 

"You look unusually happy." Lane said to Rory.

"Yes. Rory is very, very happy." Tristan said knowing exactly what Rory was so happy about.

"Tell me later?" Lane asked.

"Of course. So, what's tonight's movie choice?"

"Well we know you girls want to see something like 'Tuck Everlasting' but since the guys out number the girls four to two…" Dave stopped in mid-sentence and looked to Lane to continue for him.

"We're watching 8 Mile," Lane finished. She and Lane shared a knowing smile; both had wanted to see the movie anyways.

"You guys haven't seen it yet have you, I mean we can still watch Tuck if you're really dying to?" Dave joked.

"No we haven't seen it yet." Rory turned to Tristan. "Is that alright with you?"

"I kinda wanted to see Tuck. That girl is hot." He smiled at Rory. 

Rory looked at Dave. "8 Mile it is," she said disregarding Tristan's comment.

The group headed up to the box office. Tristan whispered to Rory, "You kinda look like the girl in Tuck."

A slight blush tinted her cheeks. "Shut up."

Inside the movie theatre, Lane was a little disappointed that she wasn't sitting next to Dave. She was completely taken by surprise when Dave asked Brian to switch seats with him so that he could talk to Lane.

"What's up?" Dave asked in a hushed tone.

Lane openly smiled flirtatiously. "Nothing."

Dave smiled back at her.

Throughout the movie, Dave would make it obvious that he was looking at Lane and she of course reveled in it.

**A/N:** Review please!!! Sorry guys, I should have warned you before you started reading this story… there's no real set plot, I'm just kinda writing in the dark here, but thanks for bearing with me though! ;)


	16. Playing the Jealous Card

**`*~ These Are Days ~*` **

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** ~***Julia***~ Wow. Thank you for your thoughtful review, it's hard to brush negative comments away even if it's not so negative. Thanks for your kind words! ~***emjai*~ I don't know… Rory's Beavis! Hehehe! I just wanted to call Jess Cornholio… he was acting corny… so, corny Cornholio, I don't know! Beats the hell outta me! =p ~***tigress***~ Sorry for the cheese, I saw the opportunity and it was begging me to sneak it in! ~***Dawnmeister**, ****Angel ****Monroe, **dodgerluv**~* Hope this chapter fulfills your literati needs! ;) ~*****To**** everyone else*~ Thanks for reviewing! **

I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily changing the storyline.

**`**~// ****Stars Hollow Town Square****: Night \\~**`**

After the movie the group scattered around in front of the theatre. This was when Dave saw the open opportunity to talk to Lane alone. 

He surprised her by coming up from behind.

He stooped to her level and poked his head next to hers, his lips inches away from her ear. "I'm glad you were able to make it tonight." Lane startled a bit and turned her face to see Dave's lips just inches away from hers now and the first girly thought that came to her mind was _Kiss__ me!_

"You scared me," she opted instead. 

He stood next to her grinning. "Yeah, sorry about that." He replied, scratching the back of his neck. "So, you had fun?" He asked rocking back on his heels, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Yeah." Lane nodded thoughtfully. "This _was really fun Dave." I __could just stare at you all day and I'd still be having fun._

"How about we do this again sometime." He told her, unknowingly flashing his trademark make-a-girl-melt smile- an innocent yet potent smile that he was unaware of.   
  


"What?" _Did he just say what I thought he said? Don't jump to conclusions Kim, he said **we should do this again sometime—as in not with just you but everyone else too. **_"Uh, yeah we should." 

"I mean… just the two of us…" He said warily.

_Man, I hope my mind isn't jumbling up his words to come out the way I want them too, cause tha-_

"…if that's alright with you." Dave interrupted the senseless jibber-jabber going on in her head. He looked at her expectantly.

_Wow. I did hear that right_, she said ever so calmly in her head, not fully registering. But seconds later everything finally clicked. Lane desperately tried not to seem too eager, but she failed. Her smile was too huge and no words were available for her to speak. **_OH. MY. GOD._** If only Rory could be in her mind to celebrate with her- all would be right in the world.

Dave chuckled at her expression. "I guess I can take that as a yes?"

Lane nodded speechlessly. Finally her voice decided it was time to speak. "Yes!" _Whoa Lane, calm down_, she scolded herself. "I mean, yeah we could do that," she said semi-coolly.

He chuckled again. "Great. I'll be sure to give you a call… soon."

"Okay." 

"Well I should get going, so…" He said uncomfortably.

"Oh okay." Lane thankfully fought off the disappointment trying to take over her face. 

He spotted Zack and Brian talking a few feet away. "Okay, uh…" Dave shocked her by pulling her into a friendly hug. 

Rory caught the them and met eyes with her deliriously cheesing best friend.

He pulled out of the hug. "Okay… so… I'll call you." He said in more of a questioning way. 

"Alright." Lane's voice didn't falter this time. 

"I'll see you later." He started walking backwards away from her and accidentally bumped into someone behind him. He quickly glimpsed behind him, giving a quick apology to whoever it was and turned back to Lane and waved, smiling foolishly. 

Before he joined his friends, Dave said his goodbyes to Rory and Tristan.

The two walked over to Lane. 

"What was that about?" She said teasingly nudging Lane's arm.

"He asked me out." Lane told them.

"Really?" Rory was excited for her; she knew she saw a spark between the two. 

She threw her arm around Lane's shoulder giving her a friendly squeeze as the three walked away from the movie theatre in the direction of Lane's house.

**`**~// Gilmore Home \\~**`**

After walking Lane home, Tristan and Rory headed to her house. Once they were in the vicinity of it, she took off running and left him behind. 

"Gotta pee!" Rory cried out to Tristan as she darted for the house. The large coke she had at the movies finally caught up to her.

Just as he was making himself comfortable on the couch, the doorbell rang.

"Hey Tristan, can you get the door?!" Rory yelled from the bathroom. She was having one of those never-ending pees. 

Tristan got up from the couch and strolled to the front door and opened it.

Jess didn't know why or how he ended up at her front door. He was casually walking past her house when he saw a black Mercedes G500 seemingly sitting out of place on the Gilmore driveway. He figured it belonged to Rory's 'boy friend' and felt the urge to make an appearance. 

Jess smirked. He was in luck. Someone was home. 

_What the hell is Tristan doing answering the Gilmore's door? _

"Hey." Jess said void of any kind of friendly tone. "Where's Rory?" He bit somewhat demandingly. He peered in behind Tristan. 

"Jessie right?" Tristan taunted. "She exposed at the moment, but-"

Before he could finish, Rory's voice echoed as she came up from behind him. 

"Who is it Tristan?" When she saw Jess her stomach dropped and the awkwardness reared its ugly head yet again. "Jess," she felt the strongest urge to smile when she saw him, but she kept it hidden remembering their current nonexistent friendship. 

"Hey Rory." Jess smirked at the both of them, but mainly pointed it to Tristan. _Exposed my ass._

"Uh, Tristan you remember Jess right?" _Hm__…, that sounds vaguely familiar._

"Oh that's right. It's Jess, not Jess-ie. Sorry man, you can understand the confusion right?" Tristan returned Jess' smirk with a smirk of his own.

Rory quickly gave Tristan a warning look when she put her hand on his arm giving it a hurtful squeeze, "Why don't you go watch some TV and I'll be there in a minute." 

"Okay." He gave her a look of longing to help her cause and made sure Jess saw it. "Nice meeting you again Jessie." He looked back at Rory. "You won't be long?" He asked sexily. Rory wide-eyed him, not believing he just said that the way he did. _Was he **trying to make Jess jealous?**_

Rory closed the door behind her and stood outside with Jess. "What are you doing here?" She asked suspiciously. She saw his reaction when Tristan said his last words before he left them alone. _Jess couldn't possibly be jealous of Tristan…right?_

"I came by to get that cd you took from my room." _Huh, would you look at that, I did come here for a reason. He completely forgot about the cd until seconds before he had said it._

"Right… the cd, uh… I'll go get it." She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She _needed_ that cd. 

She didn't bother to invite him in. He and Tristan didn't seem to want to play nice. 

She went back inside and closed the door behind her. Tristan appeared from out of nowhere.

"God don't do that!" She whispered loudly.

"Did you see the look on his face?" 

"Yeah. I think I did." A smile slowly formed. "I can't believe you said that." She told him, playfully hitting him on the chest.

"So what's he doing here anyway?"

"He wants the cd that I stole from him that night he kissed me."

Tristan smiled. "Oh yeah?"

"He claims he came here to get it back… I bet he saw your car outside and got so unbelievably jealous that he had to come over here and fight for me," she said sarcastically, part of her wishing it was true. She laughed at herself; she couldn't believe she had said that aloud. It was Tristan's fault for putting the notion that Jess was jealous in her head. 

Tristan could tell Rory had a thing for Jess and Jess had a thing for Rory. He first noticed it at Sookie's Pre-Wedding Bash. 

"If there's anything else you'd like me to do for you…" His eyes twinkled at her. He didn't mind helping her out. A girl like Rory deserved to be happy. And if this Jess character did that for her then so be it. 

"No, I think you've helped enough." She gave him a hug, "… but thank you." She tried to release him from the hug, but Tristan was insistent in it being longer.

He finally let go when he felt it was right and he acted uneasy when he saw Jess standing in the doorway. He saw him when he first opened the door, but Jess didn't see Tristan see him. 

Rory was confused by his reaction and when she turned to see who Tristan was looking at, she knew why he wouldn't let go when she wanted to. 

"I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?" Jess disguised his hurt with sarcasm.

"Uh no, I was just going to get your cd." She pointed in the direction of her room, turned and left quickly before Jess could see her smiling. She knew it was mean, but she couldn't help it. Jess was even cuter when he was jealous. It was genuine jealousy. It was quiet endearing to see that on a hard ass like Jess. She'd have to thank Tristan for making that possible.

Tristan smirked at Jess and went back to the living room. Jess shook his head in disbelief and went back outside wishing he had a cigarette on him. He thought he was too late. Rory had already jumped into a new relationship and his chance had slipped away. He knew he shouldn't have come to her house. He thought he must've had some weird fetish in seeing Rory with someone else. It seemed to be the only explanation as to why he was always putting himself in these painful situations. 

Rory came out of her room looking for Jess. "Where'd he go?" 

"Lover boy's waiting outside I think." 

She bounced towards the door and composed herself before she opened it. 

He was leaning his back against the porch railing. She walked out the house and closed the door behind her carefully approaching him.

"Here." She said evenly handing over the cd.

Jess looked at the cd in her hand and then at her. He took it from her. His hands purposely feeling hers, thinking this would be the last time he'd ever… he shook his stupid thoughts away. The cd seemed to be the only link they had left. No more excuses to use in order to see the other again.

"So… how are things going with the new boyfriend?" Jess asked.

"What?" Rory couldn't help but think how adorable he looked.

"Your new boyfriend… how are things going?" He tried to sound as neutral as possible, but his emotions tainted his voice with raw jealousy.

"He's not my boyfriend Jess." She told him, half-smiling.

"Huh. Sure seems like it." Of course he didn't want her to know he was jealous, but the way words kept flying out of his mouth, he was sure it spelled J-E-S-S is J-E-A-L-O-U-S in huge, great big neon flashing lights. Almost Vegas worthy.

"You're _jealous_." 

_God I hate that word._ "What?" He said it like being jealous was the farthest thing from his mind.__

"_You_… are jealous of Tristan." She smiled, obviously making light of the situation.

"Whatever." He said in a failed attempt to brush her off.

"Why are you _jealous_ of Tristan?" She pressed playfully.

"Whatever Rory, I am not _jealous_ of Richie Rich in there." He looked away. He was afraid she could read his eyes 'cause God knows his mouth told on him.

"Look at you… you're squirming… it's very becoming," she said matter-of-factly. 

He playfully rolled his eyes at her. "Whatever." He looks to the ground, searching for a better retort and in finding one he looks her dead in the eyes. "Well… you're _jealous_ of Shane. Why don't you tell me why you're jealous of her?" He turned the tables on her, however childish it may have been. _Who's squirming now?_

"Oh please. I am in no way, shape or form _jealous of Shane… you are so far off base Jess." __I **hate** Shane._

She had to do it, she had to say it and before she knew it, she blurted it out. "Why'd you _kiss me?" _

Jess was completely taken aback. "What?" _What the hell's gotten into her, two bold questions in one night?_

"The night of Sookie's Pre-Wedding Bash… you know… up in your room, you _kissed me…" She saw the puzzled look on his face. "God, if you say that you don't remember I swea-"_

"I remember Rory." He said quietly.

"Then… why'd you do it?"

He looked away searching for the right thing to say, but stupidly said, "I don't know." He seemed to not work well under pressure… around Rory.

She thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest at any moment, it was beating at a high-speed and her breathing was so unsteady. 

She slipped her arms around Jess' waist and kissed him like she's always fantasized. She wanted to turn the tables back on him and that was the only thing she could come up with. Either way _she won. She finally fulfilled the many desires of kissing Jess and had the satisfaction of having Jess at a loss for a witty comeback all at the same time. __Ain't_ life grand? __

Jess was lifeless. His brain commanded his arms to wrap around her and hold her tight and his lips to kiss her back, but they appeared to be out of working order. He unexpectedly pulled away from her. It shocked Rory, but not to the extent that it shocked Jess. What the hell was he doing… _not doing?_ He hated when his body did things they weren't supposed to be not doing.

"Rory." He could _feel_ the saddened look on her face.

"What?" Her heart stopped. "I thought that this was what you wanted?" She felt stupid. _What was I thinking, he wasn't jealous… I'm going to **kill** Tristan._

"No… I mean… yes." He started to smile as his senses resumed to working mode again. "I was just surprised that's all." He never in a million years expected Rory to make the first move and kiss him… and like _that_no less. He could sense all the pent up passion in those lips, he wished he was able to return it.

He could finally feel his body becoming his own again, regaining full control. He leaned towards her, timidly placing his hand on her waist, pulling her towards him. Her hands slowly moved up his arms and unsurely rested them there.

They stared awkwardly at the other in silence, both uncertain about the current closeness they had gotten themselves into.

"Just to warn you… I'm going to kiss you now, and if you run away from me again, I _will_ run after you… and I _will_ catch you Rory."

She smiled coyly, thoroughly embarrassed by her past actions.

He inhaled silently parting his lips and slowly brushed them against hers, not waiting this time to actually kiss her, he moved his lips gingerly against hers. His heart was beating fast, full of want and anticipation. He hoped she wouldn't pull away this time; he wrapped his other arm around her with his hand on the small of her back as an added precaution to make sure she wouldn't. Feeling and tasting her lips-so soft and so sweet, he didn't think he could ever stop. He kissed her slowly and delicately, basking in every fluid motion their lips made, and when he came to the realization that he was in fact kissing Rory, he started to lose control and his lips glided over hers as though he couldn't get enough of them. It finally got to the point where he couldn't breathe, so he unwillingly pulled away slightly, silently catching his breath.

He slowly opened his eyes to hers… her beautiful blue eyes. He missed getting lost in those eyes.

"Wow," he breathed. It was better than he'd ever imagined.

She was thinking the same thing too. Her face lit up at his reaction. She placed a tender kiss on his lips. She carefully disentangled his hands from around her and ran down the porch steps.

His face fell, but when she turned around and smiled at him, he knew she was toying with his emotions and he ran after her.

**`**~// Gilmore Home: Minutes Later \\~**`**

Lorelai stepped foot into her house, took her coat off and hung it on the coat rack. She laid her keys down on the hall stand and walked into the living room where she heard the television.

"Tristan… um, wow you're here." She looked at him and then the door and then at him again.

"I'm waiting for Rory, she still out there talking to Jess?"

"Uh, I saw them leave," she said slowly. "Well actually, I saw them running down the street."

He looked at her confused.

"Hey kid, don't ask, I'm just as confused as you are. You want some coffee."

"Nah, that's alright." He started to get up. "Could you tell Rory I'll call her tomorrow?"

"Oh you don't have to leave, I'm sure they'll be back shortly."

Tristan knew that he was long forgotten. "That's okay; I've got to get going anyway."

"Well alright." 

"Bye." 

"Bbyee." 

**A/N:** Phhew! Finally huh! REVIEW!!! please… =)


	17. The After Glow

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah 

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** Hey there all you lovely, beautiful people who reviewed… thanks for hanging in there and here's to hoping you stay around for more!

**`**~// Jess' Room — Sunday Morning \\~**`**

Jess was fully covered with his blanket from head to toe, blocking any light from entering his happy fort. He slowly came to from his slumber, having had one of the best sleeps he'd ever had in his young life. He wanted to spend the rest of the day under his warm fort, but there was one thing missing that could make everything perfect… _Rory_. Cuddling with Rory under his blanket would make it complete. Jess slowly uncovered his head, his eyes adjusting to the morning rays. If anyone walked in on him at that very moment, they would have seen the content smile that had over-taken his face. He closed his eyes again remembering the events of last night

*SMACK*

Luke had quietly walked over to Jess' side of the room noticing the strange curve that had taken form on Jess' lips. _Is he smiling?_ He took a closer look. _He **is** smiling- sick little punk._ Luke smacked him in the face with one of the pillows that had landed on the floor. 

"What the-?" Jess cried out, furiously removing the pillow covering his face, wondering who the hell had the nerve to interrupt his thoughts.

"**Get up**. I need some help downstairs." Luke grunted and went downstairs to the diner. 

Jess went back to the safe haven under his blanket and laid there for a few more minutes, trying to reclaim his previous mood. 

_Where was I?... Ah yes, kissing Rory Gilmore._

"**Jess!**** I mean it. Get up!" Luke bellowed from the apartment door.**

_Damnit__.__ Can't a guy have some quiet time to himself every once in a while? Geeze. _

He gave up and threw the covers off of him. He looked at it another way—he might as well get up because Rory might be downstairs at this very moment eating breakfast. Jess actually felt butterflies in his stomach thinking about it. He jumped in the shower, dressed, spent a little extra time with his hair, and headed downstairs to the diner. 

He emerged from behind the curtain, carefully scanning the diner for that certain girl, only to find that _other_ girl… Shane. There was no way of avoiding her; she was sitting at the counter. 

_Huh. I seem to have forgotten about her._

Getting up from her stool she walked behind the counter to where Jess stood. 

"Hey." She quickly said before she caught him off guard with one of her so-called mind blowing kisses. "What happened to you last night, I thought you were coming over?"

"Rory?" He heard Lorelai call out to her daughter as she walked out of the diner. She and Rory had just walked into the diner in time to witness the kiss.

Looking out the window, Jess saw Rory storming away from the diner. 

_Shit_. He wanted to run after her. He _will run after her. _

"I'll be back." He hollered to Luke. He glanced at the blond before him and then walked past her not saying a word.

"Jess? Where're you going?"

"I'll be back in a minute, just wait here." Jess told Shane.

Lorelai took a seat at the counter in front of Luke.

"What was that all about?" Luke asked.

"Well my friend, a certain daughter of mine and a certain nephew of yours seem to have certainly gotten together."

"What?" Luke's eyes widened at the thought of Rory with Jess. He was smitten with the idea.

"Yep."

"Jess and Rory?"

"Uh-huh."

"Rory and Jess?"

"Yes. Put them in any order you want and they'll still be together."

"Oh my God… that's great." He was utterly astonished.

Lorelai nodded.

"Wow, I can't believe this. Rory with Jess." Luke genuinely smiled. "This is great." He brought himself down from his cloud and back to Lorelai. "Don't you think this is great?"

"Yeah, I think it's about time."

Luke turned to Shane sitting at the far end of the counter obviously out of earshot of hearing anything they had just said.

"Well what about _her_?" He said lowering his voice even though she couldn't hear them anyway. 

"I'm pretty sure… no I'm positive she'll be out of the picture by the end of today."

"Oh. Poor girl."

They both shrugged.

**`**~// ****Stars Hollow Town Square**** \\~**`**

Jess saw Rory speed walking down the side walk and called her to make her stop.

"Rory!" He jogged to catch up to her. She was a speedy little thing.

She turned around. "Oh hey Jess." She gave him a fake smile. She thought she had stealthily walked out of the diner without being seen by him. 

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely. 

"For what?"

"Rory, I know you saw it."

"Oh um… right… _it_." She sighed.

"Believe me I had no idea she was going to kiss me like that."

"Oh no, it's okay." She lied of course.

"It's okay?" Jess was confused.

"I mean no it's not okay, but… I don't know… what do you want me to say? That I don't mind seeing you and Shane kissing. I just thought that… " She stared at the sidewalk.

"Rorrry." He sang and chuckled at the same time. "I totally forgot about Shane. I'm breaking it off with her today."

She furrowed her brows. "How could you forget about Shane?"

"How could you forget about Tristan?"

"Point taken." She looked back up at him and smiled. "Ya know, I've never been the_ other woman before."_

"Well now you can add that to your list of accomplishments." He couldn't stand being around her that long and not have kissed her yet. He leaned in, but she held him back with her hands firmly planted on his chest.

"What do you think you're doing?" She giggled.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He said flirtatiously and leaned in again, but again she held him back.

"Jess."

"Rory."

"It doesn't feel right." She toyed.

"What do you mean it doesn't _feel_ right? It's your duty to kiss me. You are after all the_ other woman_." He said slyly.

"Jess."

He chuckled. "What? You're driving me crazy."

"Good."

"You're mean." He gave her his best puppy dog eyes.

"So did you want to hang out tonight?" She asked shyly.

"Of course."

"Okay, well, do you still get off at six?"

"Yeah."

"If you want you could come over and we could figure out something to do tonight."

"Alright, I'm down for that."

"Just do what you have to do first…"

He knew exactly what she was implying. "Right, it's done." He assured her.

"Okay then… it's settled."

"Uh-huh." He grinned at her.

"I guess I'll see you later." She started to walk off, but Jess gently grabbed her hand, interlocking it with his. She turned around and fell right onto Jess' lips.

He kissed her gently while she begged every nerve in her body to help her pull away, although not exactly knowing why she would ever want to pull away. She brought her free hand up to his face and stroked his cheek, letting herself enjoy the kiss. He pulled her into him wrapping his free arm around her. 

As soon as the kiss began it had ended. 

"Hey tell my mom to bring me back a coffee and a strudel." She said as she broke out of the kiss, leaving Jess a bit unsatisfied.

"O Kay." 

"Bye." She smiled and released herself from his grip and walked away from him. He stood and watched her walk a couple feet.

"Mean I tell ya!" He yelled to her.

**`**~// Gilmore Home \\~**`**

Rory knew she should review for her Lit test early since Jess was coming over later on that night. From past experience she expected him to stay for a while. She looked at the clock; it was eight thirty- too early to call Tristan. She needed to apologize for last night. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about him, but being with Jess made it seem like they were in their own little world… just the two of them. 

Rory couldn't believe it… she and Jess were finally getting somewhere. Just yesterday they weren't even talking, but now they're together _together_. 

She kissed him. _She_ kissed _him. She'd fantasized, even dreamed what it would be like to kiss him so many times before and the real thing certainly didn't compare to the thoughts she conjured up in her little head. His lips were surprisingly soft, maybe even softer than her own. His kiss was gentle and feeling, so unlike Dean's. Now that she thought about it, compared Dean's with Jess', Dean really wasn't that good a kisser. His kisses were more like plain smooches, kinda like how older people would kiss. But with Jess… she could literally _feel_ how much he wanted her… how much he needed her. _

_So this is how it feels to kiss someone you're truly in lo-_

The thought of love and Jess scared her. The love thing with Dean was a simple kind of love. She may have once felt it, but it became mechanical and lost its true meaning somehow. But with Jess… she deeply cared _about him and __for him. It was the kind of care that she only held for the people who meant the utmost to her. She felt that Jess could easily be one of them. Could she possibly love Jess so early into their relationship? A small smile formed on her lips as another realization set in. Jess was her boyfriend. _

A couple hours went by as she studied, thought about Jess, studied some more, and thought about Jess again. She looked at the clock and saw that it was a good enough time as any to call Tristan. 

"Hello?"

"Tristan?"

"Rory. Nice of you to remember me," he joked.

"Tristan, you don't know how awful I feel. I am so so sorry, I can't believe I ditched you like that. That was so rude of me. I'm a bad person-"

"Rory." He interrupted her quickly. From experience he knew she could go on and on. "It's alright."

"**No** it's not. I'm gonna make it up to you. I promise. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it, seriously. So how'd it go…"

"Well… it seems that Jess and I are together."

"Seems?"

"He still has to break up with his girlfriend." Rory told him, a little ashamed.

"Wow."

"What?" 

"You stole someone's boyfriend. That's not very nice Rory." He teased.

"I'll have you know _she_ stole him from me first."

"If that helps you sleep at night."

"She did!"

"Okay."

"I'm still sorry Tristan. How can I make it up to you?" She thought quickly. "Ooo I know, you can come over for movie night, your choice of course, and I'll pick up all the junk we can stuff our faces with. How's that sound?" 

"Well I said it was alright, but if you insist." How could he turn down an offer from Rory.

"**Yes**. I insist Tristan; you don't understand how terrible I feel. Please just let me do this."

"Alright. I'm not a hard sell, just tell me when."

"Good, thank you. We'll shoot for this weekend maybe. I'll let you know."

He wanted to ask her if Jess was joining in on the festivities. _That would definitely be fun_. _Note the sarcasm please._

**`**~// Luke's Diner — Sunday Late Afternoon \\~**`**

Luke watched as Jess refilled every single customer's cup in the diner with coffee - even those who weren't even drinking coffee. Rory had already taken affect on Jess - the kid had a certain glow radiating off of him and Luke found it quite entertaining.

"Jess." Luke called from behind the counter. He had a suspicious smile painted on his face. He had waited all day for Jess to tell him about Rory, but he didn't fess up anything… but that was to be expected.

"Yeah." Jess was refilling the last cup of coffee on his rounds. Although his mouth wasn't smiling, his eyes sure were. He couldn't hide it from Luke either.

"Come here a sec."

Jess walked behind the counter placing the coffee pot back on the warmer. "What?" He said warily, noticing his uncle's unusual smirk.

Luke chuckled a bit. "What's goin' on with you? Are you high or something?" He joked.

"What?" 

"Let me have a look at you." Luke leaned into Jess, paying close attention to his eyes.

"What do you think you're doin'?" Jess backed away from him, trying to regain his personal space.

"Eh well, you're not high."

"What? Of course I'm not high. Geeze, what the hell is wrong with you? Have you gone insane?" Jess was starting to get irritated.

"Me? I'd like to ask you the same question."

"Whatever." Jess tried to shrug him off. He was ruining his euphoric mood. "I'm out." 

"You just took your break an hour ago."

"I'm not takin' a break. I'm done for the day." He held his watch up to his uncle. "It's six o'clock." He said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, right. Well, where you goin'?"

"Out." 

_Ah geeze, not this again_. It was always the same routine. "Out where?"

"Out," and out went Jess.

**`**~// Gilmore Home: Evening \\~**`**

"So… I'm glad we don't have to hate you anymore." Lorelai told Jess who was sitting next to her on the couch.

Rory had fallen asleep earlier while reading a book and had woken up when Jess arrived. She was in her room getting dressed.

"Me too." 

"I'm not going to give you the 'if you hurt my daughter speech' cause frankly you should already know what I'm capable of, right?"

"Uh-huh." 

"I was a little iffy about you in the beginning as you know, but I've seen the way you are around her. And I must say… I can see that you are quite taken with my daughter."

Jess faintly blushed. He uncomfortably scratched his temple and ruffled his hair. 

"And… she's quite taken with you too."

Jess inwardly smiled, he was happy… genuinely happy for once in his life. 

"I'm sooo sorry." Rory trotted over to the two seated on the couch. "I can't believe I fell asleep."

Lorelai stood up. "So you guys wanna order pizza?"

Rory looked at Jess to get the go ahead and she did.

"Ok, pizza it is." She grabbed the cordless and went into the kitchen to leave the budding spuds alone.

Rory sat next to Jess leaving a big gap between them.

"So…" She said nervously. She couldn't believe that Jess was hers… to hug, to kiss, to touch… she looked over at him and noticed the huge space between them. _When I can actually do all those things is still up for debate._

"So." He replied equally nervous.

Silence stuffed the air with uneasiness. And butterflies filled their stomachs.

"Alright pizza's on its way." Lorelai said as she walked into the room. The two looked to her, one pleading while the other… well the other was unreadable.

Lorelai sensed what was going on. "Uh, okay, I'll be upstairs. Call me when the pizza gets here." And she was gone in a heartbeat.

Rory couldn't believe her mother had just left her like that. _Did she not get the pleading look?_ She clasped her hands and glanced at Jess. "So."

Jess lightly laughed. "I think we've already covered the so's."

"Right… so…" She smiled realizing that she said it again. "How'd it go with Shane."

"Well you know, it's the same every time I break up with a girl, she yelled and screamed and cried her eyes out."

Rory smirked at him. 

"What, you don't believe me?" He laughed at her expression. "Oh I get it. I'm not crying material huh."

She suddenly felt bad, that was entirely not what she meant. She felt the need to explain herself, "No I-"

"I'm kidding Rory. She took it alright I guess. I didn't really have to do much seeing as though she saw us kissing."

"Wow, are you serious? Now I feel bad."

"You haven't really gotten the whole _other woman_ act down have you?"

"Looks that way doesn't it? It's all very new to me. I think I may need more practice," she stated.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmhumh."

"Well you better get to it. I hear Kirk's seeing someone at the moment." He teased.

The two shared a knowing smile. They finally were back to how they were before… only this time they didn't have to hide how they really felt. Alls' well…

A/N: This may turn into an R so be prepared and those of you who aren't of age you might have to stop reading! ;( Review pwease!


	18. A Necking Session? What's That?

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** Yikes! Sorry it took me so long to add another chapter… I must've really used the term Christmas Vacation. I wrote this chapter a couple weeks ago too, was too busy and lazy to post, mah bad! ~***emjai***~ me love you too, ~***nina** & **emjai***~ the Tristan + girlfriend thing may just be in the works ;) ~***girlfrommars***~ Yay! A newcomer… welcome! ~***Seehoo***~ Wow! Thanks for your review-s, love reading reviews like that! ~***To**** everyone who reviewed*~ Mmmmuah, thanks for stickin' around! **

I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

**`**~// Gilmore Home - Wednesday Morning \\~**`**

Rory woke up to the growling, gurgling noises in her stomach, something that hardly ever happened this early in the morning. Then it occurred to her… that smell, almost smelled like pancakes. No… that can't be right, she never, in all her seventeen years of living on this earth, woke up to the warm, yummy smell of pancakes in the morning. Her mouth watered as the smell intoxicated her room, she pulled herself out of her bed willingly, slipping into her fuzzy cookie monster slippers. When she opened her door, she found her mother… Lorelai Gilmore, near the stove, flipping, what most certainly looked like a pancake.

Lorelai saw her daughter walk into the kitchen with a big look of bewilderment plastered on her young face.

"Hey sweets. Did you sleep well?"

"I'm not sure yet. I think I'm still dreaming… by the way, have you seen my mother? She's tall, about your height, same brown hair and blue eyes… come to think of it, you're a striking resemblance of her, but you can't possibly be my mother… she doesn't cook nor has she ever been inclined to cook anything in her life. She's the type of person who'd eat really stale cheese-nip if it was the last thing in the house just so she didn't have to cook." 

Lorelai chose to ignore her daughter's incessant mocking. "Hon, do me a favor and set the table."

"Set the table?" She'd never heard these words before.

"Yes, daughter. Set the table. I made breakfast." 

"Somebody pinch me before this nightmare continues." Rory searched cupboard for two plates. 

"Don't fret my dear it's all edible. Trust mama."

"Well I have to admit, you sure have the smell factor down. It really smells like pancakes." 

"I know, doesn't it? I'm so proud of myself. I've been up since four a.m. and finally an hour and a half and five batches later, I've come up with a decent, fit for human consumption, batch of pancakes," she said proudly.

"You've made five batches of pancakes?" Rory sat at the table, more reluctant to taste her mother's cooking now.

"Uh-huh."

"And what was wrong with the first four batches?" She dared to ask.

"I can't tell you. I'd be a bad mother if I did. You may have nightmares and then you'd want to take me to court and divorce me for being so cruel." She placed three pancakes on Rory's plate. "Now eat up and tell me what you think… and be honest."

She looked at her mother expectantly.

"What? What's the matter? Why aren't you eating?"

"Well I kinda need butter and syrup?"

"Oh right! How could I have forgotten? Sorry, all the excitement…"

Rory spread the butter and poured the syrup on her pancakes, while Lorelai stood beside her, anxiously awaiting her review. Rory took her precious time cutting up her pancakes into bite size pieces, allowing her some time to figure out how to get herself out of this taste test.

"Come on already! **Eat**." Lorelai grew antsy by the minute.

"Do I have to?" Rory whined.

Lorelai glared at her.

"God help me."

"Oh you're sooo dramatic… Eat!"

Rory stabbed a piece and stuck it in her mouth."

For once in her life, Lorelai couldn't read her daughters expression. "Well…"

"This is… really good mom," she said truthfully, completely impressed.

"I knew it! Success at last." She grabbed Rory's fork out of her hand and tasted a piece for herself.

"Hey! Give that back, get your own plate." Rory fought, lightly shoving her mother away and covering her plate with her arms.

"Mmm, this is good… almost as good as Luke's. Hey. I'm a regular Susie Homemaker."

"Well I wouldn't take it there just yet, but why the sudden need to cook?" She grabbed her fork back and began eating the rest of her pancakes.

Lorelai fixed herself a plate and sat down next to Rory. "I was talking to Luke the other day, and he was telling me how much he missed waking up to the smell of homemade pancakes that his mother made when he was young. So that got me to thinking, you- my precious baby girl, never once experienced what it was like. I mean I have, of course my mother didn't cook it, but nevertheless I still experienced it, and I didn't want you to miss out." She said thoughtfully.

"Aww, that's so sweet… but now I'd like to hear the real reason please."

"Augh… okay fine, as I recently professed the liking of a certain diner guy to you, I thought that maybe it would be good to learn a few tricks of his trade..."

"And this is part of your plan to what exactly?"

"Well I was thinking about inviting him to breakfast at our place one day and I'd cook him pancakes and he'll get all impressed with my skills-"

"…or lack-there-of." Rory interrupted.

"Look how my daughter mocks away at her only living mother." She glared.

"Sorry, continue."

"Anyways, as I was saying, he'll get all impressed with my skills and we'll just have to see what my skills make him want to do. It'll all be in his hands."

"Well, I'm happy to say that if these pancakes don't kill me later, you're a shoe-in with Luke… so… the whole story about Luke and his mother's homemade pancakes?"

"Okay, so I wasn't entirely telling you the whole truth… it wasn't his mother, it was Rachel." She admitted. "Geeze kid, you're getting a little too good at this whole 'I know you're lying' thing. I've taught you too much my young grasshopper."

"I know. You've trained me well."

"Ah yes, but you're using your powers against me and that's a big nono."

"I'll try to remember that."

"So tell me… how are you and Jess doing?" She dared to ask.

"Why do you ask?"

"What, I'm not allowed to ask how you guys are doing? It's a valid question Rory."

"Right. Sorry." Rory was still a bit protective of her new relationship with Jess. "It's good, we're doing really good."

"Good." Lorelai sensed her reluctance and left it alone. She knew in time Rory would tell her everything- her thoughts and feelings- everything, when she was ready. She went through the same thing when she was Dean. 

"Hey listen, I don't have to be to work until twelve, want a ride to school?"

"Sure."

"Okay." 

**`**~// Stars Hollow: Bus Stop — Afternoon \\~**`**

Jess wanted to wait for Rory's bus to arrive from Hartford. He was prepared too. He pulled a book out from his back pocket and began to read. Twenty minutes later, her bus had arrived.

He stood up and waited for her to emerge and finally after ten or so people got off the bus his eyes landed on a girl who put true meaning to the words _private school uniform_. He's seen her many times in her school uniform, but today in particular, she looked extremely sexy.

"Jess? What are you doing here?"

"What, too much?"

"No, I just… I didn't expect you to be here."

"Why, I've waited for you before?"

"I know… it's just different."

"I could go if you reall-"

She crushed his lips with hers to shut him up. This was their fifth kiss, the first- being outside her front door, the second- when Jess kissed her after she saw the Shane scene in the diner, the third- which was a timid third kiss, that resulted in a mere peck when he left Sunday night, and the fourth and fifth- were replicas of the third when they saw each other at the diner.

This time was different though. She felt bold and inebriated by his scent, and she felt the desire to deepen the kiss. She opened her mouth slightly, moistening his lips with the tip of her tongue, waiting for him to react, his soon brushed softly against hers. Jess grew weak with every stroke of her tongue and feel of her lips, she was quite the unpredictable one, and he was learning to really love that quality about her. He could feel her hands moving on his back. This woke him up. He realized that his hands were still at his sides. He quickly wrapped them around her in an embrace. 

Moments later…

"Hi Jess," she said sweetly.

"Hi Rory," Jess was loving the fact that he could kiss Rory whenever and wherever he pleased… he loved it even more when she instigated it.

They started walking towards the diner. 

"I have something to tell you…," she began, but her thoughts were interrupted when she saw what looked like Lane with a certain boy who was in fact Dave Rygalski. He was kissing her next to a big oak tree, seemingly hiding from prying eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mrs. Kim walking down the street towards the two. 

On instinct, she knew she had to intersect… and fast.

"Mrs. Kim!" She ran towards her leaving a confused Jess behind.

She glanced over at the two kissing fools and was glad to see that her intersection was successful, they had heard her. They quickly jumped away from each other at the sound of Mrs. Kim's name.

"Oh God." Lane was petrified. If her mother saw her, she would have been on a one-way ticket plane ride to Korea.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't hav-" Dave tried to sympathize, but was interrupted by Lane.

"No, I mean, I'm sorry… I have to go." She quietly ran back to her house, unnoticed by Mrs. Kim.

"What is it Rory, I'm in a hurry?" Mrs. Kim said curtly.

"Oh, um nevermind." She smiled sweetly. "I forgot what I was going to say."

Mrs. Kim hastily walked away from her.

Rory walked backed to Jess.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothin', just helping a friend live to see tomorrow."

"Ah, I see… so what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh right. Well, um… I'm sorta hanging out with Tristan on Saturday. I felt bad forgetting him like that the other night so I invited him over to watch a movie."

"What?" He didn't sound mad; instead his tone had a hint of hurt to it. He couldn't tell her he didn't want her hanging out with him anymore. Well he could but he would have to call himself Dean. He knew in the back of his mind that if they hung out together there would be a possibility of something happening. That was how things usually escalated, that's how he and Rory became what they are now, and if he wasn't careful… he may lose her… to him. 

"I'm sorry, it's not okay is it? I'll just cancel? Forget I brought it up." She hadn't thought about the consequences of what she said. _Of course it's not alright, how would you like it if Jess wanted to hang out with some girl?_ She wanted to reassure him that they were just strictly friends.

"I don't care if you hang out with this guy, you guys are just _friends." He stressed friends only to make him feel better._

"No it's wrong. I'm sorry Jess."

"Rory, seriously, it's fine." He couldn't believe he was giving his girlfriend permission to hang out with another guy.

"Jess… you can trust me you know. I have no romantic interest in him what-so-ever. You have nothing to worry about." Her assurance didn't make any impact though. He was getting the feeling that he may just be the Dean in this relationship and Tristan would be playing _him_…

**`**~// ****Kim Home: Moments After the Lane/Dave Kiss Fiasco \\~**`**

"Hello?" Lane answered the telephone.

"Lane."

"Oh, hey Dave. I'm really sorry about earlier. It's just that, you should know something about my mom."

"And what's that?"

"Well, I'm sorta not allowed to date anyone that my mother hasn't set me up with."

"You don't think she'd like me?"

"You see, she's looking for someone more along the lines of a potential Korean doctor."

"Ah, I see, one of those… Hey. You know what? I was planning on being a doctor someday so that covers one requirement, now the other, well I may need some extra time to find a way to make myself Korean… but I think I can manage that," he joked.

"Ha ha, you're funny."

"Look Lane, I really like you and if you need to hide me from you're mother for a while, I'm willing to work with that… I would just really like it if you gave this thing with us a chance."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Great."

"Just as long as you're sure about the whole sneaking behind my mother's back thing. It may get ugly, are you sure you'll be prepared?"

"I'm one hundred percent sure Lane."

"Positive?"

"Affirmative."

"Okay." 

"I had a great time at the movies today."

"Yeah, me too."

"When do you think we could meet up again? Maybe this time we could go somewhere and get a bite to eat."

"Hmmm, I'll try and figure something out."

"Okay, well, just give me a call."

"Okay."

"Anytime."

"Alright."

He chuckled a bit at his persistence. "Alright, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Dave."

Two weeks had passed and the Tristan movie night never happened because Rory had to spend the week with her grandparents. They insisted that she spend the week with them because they were leaving for Paris for two months. 

**`**~// Gilmore Home: May 10, Friday Night: Seven-ish \\~**`**

Rory hadn't spent quality time with Jess for about two weeks, seeing as though she was at her grandparents for a week and the week after that she had finals to study for and projects to finish. Most of their time spent together was talking on the phone for hours and hours on end late at night when Rory was supposed to be sleeping (she didn't mind losing a couple of hours of sleep for him) and the few times they saw each other at the diner. And let's not forget the few times they snuck away from the diner to talk alone and make-out for a few short minutes. Rory was on a strict time budget with all the end of the school year projects and finals. The only time she could put in with Jess were a few minutes here and there during the day. 

Her new boyfriend was Paris actually… they had spent almost every waking hour together, perfecting their projects. Yes, projects plural… they had the pleasure of being paired together on four projects for four different classes and Paris was working Rory to her fullest, which meant little to no time for Jess.

They planned to get together for a couple of hours tonight to watch a movie with her mom. Jess practically had to beg Luke for a few hours off, his uncle was torturing him for the sake of entertainment purposes of course. He took the abuse for Rory though, he really missed being with her for more than ten minutes. He'd almost forgotten what the girl looked like. The only catch was that he had to come back to the diner to help his uncle close up. 

The doorbell echoed through the house.

"I'll get it!" Rory yelled as she jogged to the front door, butterflies picking away at her stomach.

She smiled at the sight and smell of her boyfriend. She always loved the way he smelled. "Hey."

"Hi," and with that said, he politely kissed her on the lips.

"That sucked Jess. I haven't seen you for almost two weeks and that's all I get… a measly little kiss?" She teased.

"I'm sorry. Here, lemme try that again." He closed the door between them and knocked on it.

Rory giggled and opened the door again. 

He slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her very, very close to him and she in turn wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Better?"

"Umm...," she pretended to think.

Jess leaned in giving her his most passionate kiss yet that he could muster up, which wasn't hard at all, and moments later he unwillingly pulled away to see her reaction. 

"Much better." Rory whispered, their faces hardly an inch apart.

"I missed you," Jess professed sincerely, barely audible. He kissed her again and felt the smile that had formed on her lips.

Lorelai had to go to the Inn at the last minute, having to fix yet another problem that had arisen just as she, Rory and Jess were about to sit down to watch the movie. 

"Okay, you guys be good." She turned to Jess, waving a pointed finger at him. "I mean it Jess. I've got cameras set up in every room so no hankey pankey. Understood?" 

Jess nodded. 

"Alright, I'll be back as soon as I can… and expect me to pop up at any moment mmkay?"

The two nodded and Lorelai left. 

Two hours later…

The television light flickered throughout the living room making lightning shadows on the wall, and being as though it was on mute, the only sounds that could be heard were the faint breathings coming from Rory. She was lying on the couch with Jess' body situated between her legs and they were having a necking session… an actually necking session, their first too.

"I'm not to heavy am I?" Jess muttered softly against her neck as he stroked the soft silken skin he found underneath the hem of her shirt. 

"Mm-uh." Rory breathed as she crazily ran her fingers through his hair thoroughly enjoying the effect Jess's lips had on her neck. She never had one of these sessions with Dean and he probably couldn't have made her feel this good either.

He slowly kissed his way up her neck to her chin and paused to look at the clock. She opened her eyes in disappointment when she could no longer feel his lips on her.

"What?" Rory breathed again, her eyes were heavily glazed with pleasure.

He smirked at the sight of her. Seeing her so turned on by him was quite amazing. He liked the fact that she could take this much pleasure from a simple necking session, and from him no less. He couldn't deny that this feeling was a first for him too… just kissing her neck like that and hearing her breaths of pleasure was all too much. 

He swiftly kissed her lips, "I have exactly five minutes before I have to get back to the diner."

She grinned at him. "Since when have you ever been on time?" 

He dragged a finger along the length of her neck. "Since I can't control myself around you?" He said sexily.

"Oh yeah." She smiled, fully pleased that she had this affect on him.

"Yeah." He shot her his sexy smile.

She ran her fingers through the back of his head feeling his soft hair. She took a finger and made circular motions on his head making his hair twirl on her finger. "Well quit yakking, I only have five minutes," she teased.

His mouth opened a bit in mock surprise by what she said. "I guess I should really get back to what I was doing then huh?"

"I guess so."

He possessed her lips again, but instead of cutting it short he lingered a while until he felt Rory gently urge him to go back down to the part of her neck that was feeling neglected. He obeyed by showering her neck with suckles and kisses, and from the soft moans escaping Rory's mouth, he could tell that it was time to stop before things got a little too heated… he would… stop… just not quite yet. 

Ten minutes later and now both heavily breathing; Jess stopped with one last peck on her neck and laid his head down on her shoulder; his lips contently resting on the soft skin of her neck. 

Her hand was still lost in his hair. Rory looked at the clock and smiled. "Luke's going to kill you."

A mischievous smile took form on his now swollen lips. "Nah, you wouldn't let him do that," his voice a little hoarse.

"And what makes you think that?"

"Well, if Luke killed me… my lips… and your neck…," he placed a chaste kiss on her neck, sending all too familiar tingles down her spine, "wouldn't be able to play anymore."

"Hmmm… excellent point. I think you're right." He gave her another soft smooch on her neck.

He started to get up, but Rory held him down by tugging on the sides of his shirt. "Wait." She pleaded softly.

Now he smiled, fully pleased that he had this affect on her. "Can't get enough of me Rory?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.

She playfully rolled her eyes at him and pushed him off of her. She got up from under him and they were now in a sitting position still very close to one another. 

"My how fast your head swells with a simple request. Are you sure you don't need me to hold you're inflated head on your way to the diner? I mean I wouldn't want you to topple over or anything."

He put one arm around her waist and pulled her into his grasp. He kissed her ear and whispered "I can't get enough of you." He said childishly and with his other hand he swept her hair away from her neck. And to make his point clear to her, he ravished her neck once again. A couple minutes later Rory got up so she could compose herself, these feelings were all too new to her and they were a bit frightening. She stood in between his knees, and he took both of her hands, interlocking them with his; looking at her expectantly with those puppy brown eyes of his and she knew exactly what he wanted. She bent down and gently kissed him. 

"You really should go Jess," she smiled.

"Don't want to," he said like a four year old and pouted.

"You are sooo cute." She let go of one hand and pinched his cheek.

He stood up, taking her other hand back, giving her a tender kiss on her lips. A big grin claimed his face when he stopped. "I seriously cannot get enough of you Rory." 

She smiled sweetly. "I know."

He chuckled. "Oh you do, do you?"

"Yup." She said suppressing a laugh. They stared at each other both grinning to no end.

"Ok… we're getting a little too lovey dovey here, don't you think?" Jess proclaimed happily.

"Yeah, it's like the phone call thing, where the new couple goes on and on about who's going to hang up first."

"God, that will definitely not be us."

"Yes… definitely." Rory agreed.

They stood silently gaping at each other, grinning wildly.

"We're hopeless." Rory said.

"It's inevitable." And they began kissing again. Jess stopped and coolly threw himself on the couch again with his arms open for her.

She laughed at him and to his disappointment, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him back up. "Jess… go." 

He pouted at her. "Fine."

He allowed her to lead him to the front door, their hands intertwined.

He stopped at the door and leaned against it, pulling her close to him with his hands securing her behind her waist.

"Jess…"

"I like this…"

"What?" Rory beamed.

"Us… like this."

She placed a delicate kiss on his cheek, grabbing the door knob behind him, she moved back pulling him with her so she could open the door.

"You like me don't you Jess?"

He answered by putting his hand behind her neck, his fingers in her hair, stroking her cheek with his thumb and took her lips again, but this time he put everything into it, leaving her completely weak and wanting more when he pulled away so abruptly. "Bye Rory." He turned and left her leaning against the door for it was the only thing that could keep her standing. He himself was having a problem standing upright. He was surprised he made it down the porch steps okay. 

**A/N:** I hoped this made up for my frozen period of not updating… I was initially going to make this into two chapters, but I thought that I should be extra nice to you guys since you're so great about REVIEWING!!! ;)


	19. Rory's Growing Up

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah 

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** ~***Jade*~ This chaps for YOU! My way of saying thanks for reviewing every single chapter =) ~***dodgerluv** & ****tigress33*~ you guys have also reviewed faithfully once you've stumbled upon my story… muchass-graciass! ~***Sarah** ****V.*~ I'll see you there!! ;p ~*****Christina, ****Mysticgrl, ****Mallorie, ****swim6516, **twinkletoes**, **nina**, **miss.peebles**, **Fantasylover**, ****Rory ****Potter & ****jessgurly*~ thanks for such kind words! Especially the ones by ~***katem-23**, ****tayleigh, ****Angel **Monroe**, & ****Luisa*~ You guys are too much, hehe I love it! ~*****Luisa*~ Damn, thanks for pointing that out, there I was on the 20th chapter, thinking I was spelling it right all this time… when in fact I was completely wrong! Soo glad you said something :) ~*****imonadiet*~ yes, yes, yes, I love cheese and corn ~***emjai***~ I second that, he is definitely smokin'. ~**Thanks to everyone who I failed to mention… all you nameless people!!!**

I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

Get a blanket and pillow… get comfy… this is the longest Chapter in Genevah's history! Why you ask… answer's at the bottom! Luv you guys! *sniff sniff* I'm gonna miss all of yous!

**`**~// Stars Hollow — May 11, Saturday Afternoon \\~**`**

Jess' face lit up instantly when he spotted Rory with Lane across the street from the diner. After all these months, the girl still had that affect on him and he couldn't believe that they've been together for almost two weeks. He couldn't believe she was actually his girl.

"I'll be back in a sec Luke." Jess called out to his uncle as he left the diner. 

Luke looked up from his order pad, and before he could get his word in edgewise, Jess had already left the premises. He saw the cause of Jess' sudden disappearing act when he peered out the window. He shook his head. His nephew undeniably had a bad case of puppy love.

He quietly walked down the street to the two girls who were too engrossed in the town bulletin board to notice him creeping up on them. 

"… so I told Tristan about the Stars Hollow Annual Adopt a Puppy Day and he said he's gonna check it out for his little sis- *gasp*"

Jess slipped his arms over Rory's waist from behind, locking her in his grasp. 

"Hey there." He said huskily in her ear, his warm breath sending tingles down her spine, giving a quick peck on her neck - obviously teasing her by bringing back not so distant memories of last night. Without any hesitation she leaned into him, reveling in the feel of his body against her. She turned her head to face him, swaying him to give her a kiss by purposely staring at his lips. He softly kissed her, holding her close, she folded her arms on top of his, gently stroking his forearms with her fingers as they furthered the kiss. 

Lane cleared her throat, hinting on that she was still around. In the past, Rory would never openly kiss her boyfriend in front of Lane… at least not like that anyway. Somehow when she was in the vicinity of Jess, conservative Rory flew out the window.

Both suddenly aware that they weren't the only two in Stars Hollow, Jess pulled away and hazily opened his eyes to Lane. "Hey Lane," he greeted, expertly composing himself.

"Jess. How nice of you to finally acknowledge my existence." Lane smirked.

Rory gave her best friend an apologetic look.

He still hasn't let her out of his arms and he didn't intend to. Rory never pegged him to be so affectionate… a definite plus in her book. With Dean, everything was so mechanical… down to the very last touch. But with Jess, there was more to his touch, he made her feel things she had never felt before. It was scary and exciting all at the same time.

"So what are we looking at?" Jess glanced over at the bulletin board. "What crazy event has this town cooked up now?"

"Not so crazy this time, just a regular Adopt a Puppy Day." Rory answered.

"Huh." Jess said infamously. "You're not getting one."

"What?"

"I know that once you set your eyes on one of those cute little puppies you're gonna want one. And _you… are not getting one." _

"Uh you're telling the wrong Gilmore here. I'm fully aware that we are not capable of having any type of animals in the Gilmore home. Now my mother on the other hand, is an entirely different story." 

"I can vouch for that." Lane chimed in knowingly.

He heard about the sick story of their hamster or gerbil they once had and how Kleenex played a major role in its demise. 'Come to think of it, that does sound more like Lorelai,' he concluded to himself.

"Hey, I got an idea Jess… why don't you get one?" She said, with a delightful grin displayed on her lips. "That way, I'll be able to play with it whenever I want and all you have to do is feed it, walk it, train it, and give it a place to sleep," she stated like it was no big deal.

"Yeah and leave all the dirty work to me… smart girl."

"Chilton seems to think so." Rory mocked, but remembered the task at hand and flashed him her doe eyes.

"O no, don't give me the doe eyes Rory."

"Ah come on Jess… you know you want one," she playfully pressured. "Pleeease?" She turned on the charm turning her body so that she could face him, still being held by him, her hands placed on his chest. She kissed him softly and slowly. "Please Jess?"

Jess smiled a smile that Lane thought he would never be capable of, she actually saw his teeth. 'Rory must be the only person that could make him smile like that.'

"No way. I'm not gonna be your puppy's keeper Rory." He chuckled.

She cutely kissed his bottom lip, coaxing him with her crystal blue eyes, sliding her fingers through the soft hair above the back of his neck with one of her hands. "Pleeease?" She didn't know what had gotten into her, trying to seduce Jess into getting a puppy… trying to seduce Jess at all for that matter? He unknowing brought this out of her… making her feel somewhat… sensual… 

Jess on the other hand, was trying to remain calm, cool, and collected- a truly hard thing to do when a girl like Rory unsuspectingly turned him on with every glance and touch she bestowed upon him.

Lane groaned, rolling her eyes. "O please spare me and get a room," she begged. 

Rory couldn't believe Lane had said that out loud. She threw Lane a glare making her aware that she just ate her foot. Rory and Jess shared a weird moment, both slightly pink from Lane's comment and when their eyes met in that split second, they both looked away uncomfortably. Jess ignored Lane's remark, well he thought about it for a quick second and then erased it from his mind. It was way too soon to be thinking about that anyway.

"Besides, Luke would never allow a puppy in the apartment." He said, trying to break the awkwardness. 

'Ok, awkward moment over,' Rory comforted herself. "Ask him."

"He'll say no."

"It doesn't hurt to ask," she persisted.

"I don't-" Jess started but was interrupted by Lane.

"Jess. You're fighting a losing battle here. Just say you'll ask him." 'Jess should already know by now that when a Gilmore had their mind set on something, there's nothing you can do but just sit back and agree,' Lane declared to herself.

"Fine. I'll ask him, but don't get your hopes up too high, he's gonna say no." He leaned in for a kiss, but Rory smoothly turned her body around playfully, removing herself from his grasp. He silently groaned.

"Uh Jess, I think you need to get back to work." Lane noticed Luke across the street, outside the diner with his arms folded, staring at Jess.

Jess turned to receive Luke's death glares. He did the male half-nod at his uncle before he turned back to Rory, his face softened, his eyes revealing something she's never seen before… emotion. She could tell that he didn't want to leave her yet. She smiled at him. "We're still on for tonight right?"

"How long is Paris giving you?"

Rory gave him a sympathetic look. "She's letting me have a twenty minute break this time." 

"As opposed to ten minutes, how generous of her." He mocked, holding his disappointment in, trying to disguise it with a smile. But she saw past it. She slipped her fingers through his, feeling the need to reassure him.

"Yeah, can't you tell she feels for you," she said sarcastically. 

"O yeah, an extra ten minutes… I'll be sure to thank her for that in person," he mocked.

"Be nice. We can do a lot with that extra ten minutes." Rory blushed as the realization of what she had just said sank in. 

Jess instantly raised a brow. 'Huh,' was all that his mind could say to himself.

"Shut up."

"What?" Jess asked, feigning innocence. 

She gave him the stern face.

"Ouch. The stern face… hey I'm not the one who said it," he smirked, but then his face became serious. "I can deal with twenty minutes." He said sincerely.

"Look, it'll only be for two more weeks, and then it's Paris who?" She knew he was feeling neglected, but he was being a good sport about it for the most part. He didn't get too annoyed about it like her first boyfriend in a similar situation. She liked that about him, he gave her her space—let her deal with what needed to be done to get her into Harvard, he didn't add to the stress… there were no arguments about how he had to come second to her studies. 

"Ok," he said feeling defeated, but hid it well.

They've been together for two weeks now, but under the current circumstances, seemed like only a couple of days. He completely understood though, Rory should put her school work before him, he thought. He wasn't about to hold her back… sometimes he even felt like she was too good for him. 

"Hey don't you have some studying to do yourself?" Rory questioned.

"Uh I've been good." He said arrogantly, glancing over at poor forgotten Lane. "Haven't I Lane?" Lane and Jess shared a couple of classes together.

"He's telling you the truth Rory. He even participates in class discussions," she added.

Rory looked at him delighted and not at all surprised at the new found information.

"See," he said smugly.

"Well, well, well… studious Jess… never thought I'd see the day." She absolutely knew the day would come - her little hoodlum had so much potential. He just needed a push in the right direction. She couldn't help but be proud of how much he improved over the months. 'He certainly has come a long way', she thought, but she didn't know that it was because of her. In a way, he did it because a part of him needed to feel worthy of her. Sure he was smart, but somehow without a high school diploma, just being smart wouldn't show for anything. The school thing hadn't fit him… until now. He had a reason not to cut classes anymore. He had reason to study and pass. And in the process, he found that he actually liked school. He would never let anyone know that of course. 

The three headed towards the diner. "Jess likes school." Rory sang, lightly skipping, swinging his hand back and forth.

'Damn her,' he joked to himself. He rolled his eyes at her. "Whatever. I do not like school."

"Uh-huh, just keep telling yourself that. I know its all part of the whole 'I'm too cool for school' thing… hey you know what, I hate school too." She teased. "Now I can be cool like you."

"Shut up." Jess said in true Luke fashion, but entirely in a joking manner. "You wish you could be as cool as me," with this comment he received a hard pinch from Rory.

"Ow!" He groaned, rubbing the now sore spot on his arm. "Now that hurt," he said seriously.

"Serves you right." Rory said, backing up her own actions.

"Amen to that sister-friend." Lane second.

They reached the front of the diner. "You guys want some coffee or somethin' to eat?" He asked stalling.

"I don't, I have to devise a plan so I can go on a 'kinda-sorta' date with Dave this weekend. Poor boy doesn't know what he's gotten himself into."

"I'm sure he's fully aware of the wrath of Mrs. Kim." Jess said knowingly.

"And you would know this because…?" Lane asked, completely intrigued by his sureness.

"We had a few words about you and your mom," he said easily.

Both girls glared at him, neither understanding how he could've possibly kept that kind of information from them. It was then that he realized he was dangerously trekking on uncharted territory. _Mental note: Tell Rory of any conversations had involving the people she loves or else…_

"Uh I gotta get back to work-" He said slowly, thumbing in the direction of the diner, mentally preparing himself, knowing that his cop-out wasn't going to work.

"Not so fast wise guy. Spill." Lane prodded.

"It's nothin'. He asked about you a couple times and he wanted to know if the rumors about your mom were true."

"Aaand what did you tell him?" Lane asked anxiously.

"I told him that it's true that your mom sets you up with potential Korean doctors and lawyers and that she won't let you date anyone who isn't a potential Korean doctor or lawyer… oh and that she only lets you listen to the wholesome tunes of Christian music," he regurgitated. 

Lane's face softened a bit. 

"Aww Lane, he already knew and yet he still pursued you." Rory said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, he did, didn't he."

"He must really like you Lane." Rory urged.

"Yeah," she was floating on cloud nine. "I'm gonna go call him. Bye guys," she called out as she ran towards her house.

Rory jokingly glared at Jess. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just did."

"Nooo, why didn't you tell me sooner. That was time-sensitive information there bub."

"Must've slipped my mind," he smirked.

"Uh-huh. Well I better be going, Paris' probably at the house already, talking my mother into an early grave."

"Ok." He managed evenly, he honestly didn't want her to go yet. 

"Later." She smiled sweetly letting go of his hand and started to walk away.

Jess stood watching her retreat, waiting for her to come back and give him his rightful goodbye… but she kept walking. 'Uh, now that's just wrong,' he thought to himself. 

She turned around and saw the disappointed look on his face. "Why so sad Jess?" Rory chuckled.

"If I would have known you was this cruel-"

"What? You would've never gotten together with me?"

"Yup," he mocked whole-heartedly.

"Yeah right." She chuckled again. She continued walking away from him.

"Hey come back here and give your man what he needs," he provoked, feeling the need to be foolish. 'A couple more minutes wouldn't hurt,' he said to himself, hoping the comment didn't bring on another pinch or something else just as hurtful.

She turned around wide-eyed, shocked at what he said and started laughing at his barbaric-ness. She started in his direction.

"Yeah that's right, keep walkin'."

She stopped in the street, her mouth opened, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Hey. I thought I said keep walkin'," he played.

She started to turn around.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding…," then he demanded, "Get over here…," but then pleaded, "Pleease."

She smiled at his plea and walked towards him. Not for his benefit of course, but for her own sanity… his forthright display kinda turned her on.

She made it across the street and stepped onto the side walk where Jess stood and he quickly encircled her, both hands on the small of her back, impelling her closer to him. She impatiently kissed him at once, taking Jess by surprise yet again. With Rory, he had forgotten what it was like to be the one in control, he loved it though. They were so close that they could feel the others heart racing and for the second time, heat radiated from new places on her body. 

Seconds later…                                                                                                                                              

"Jess get in here, I need you in the kitchen. Caesar called in." Luke said from the diner door. He saw their PG-13 display going on outside his diner and tried to save them from being the talk of the town.

Rory pulled away from Jess at the sound of Luke's voice, shyly looking at him.

"Nice to see you Rory." Luke said uncomfortably.

"Hey Luke." She turned heel. "Bye Luke, I'll see you later Jess!"

He looked at his nephew dead in the eyes. "We need to have a talk later."

Jess groaned, walking into the diner. He hated it when Luke lectured him, and now he was going to get the dreaded sex talk, 'Oh joy,' he mocked to himself.

**`**~// ****Kim****Home****: One Week Later — Saturday Night \\~**'**

"We're leaving now Mama!" Lane yelled to her mother as she and Rory tried to slip out of the Kim House before Lane's mom could say anything more.

"WAIT!" Mrs. Kim yelled back as she hurriedly walked through the antiques to the front door.

The two stepped back into the house. "So close." Rory whispered to a frowning Lane.

"Yes Mama," she said respectfully as her mom came into view.

Mrs. Kim addressed Rory. "You have your mother's cell phone," she stated rather than questioned.

"Yes Mrs. Kim."

"And you have full tank of gas."

"Yes I do Mrs. Kim." Rory answered politely.

"Okay… you may go."

Once away from Mrs. Kim sight, the two scurried down the porch to the Gilmore jeep.

Inside the jeep…

"Thank you so much for doing this Rory." Lane said gratefully, as she took her Mama-bought shirt off, revealing a much cooler one underneath, one that Rory had snuck over from Lane's secret stash at the Gilmore place.

"Ok Lane, enough with the 'thank yous'. That was lucky number fifty. I think you've reached your quota."

"Sorry."

"So what street does he live on?" Rory asked as they drove away from Lane's house.

"Pear." And once they reached Pear Street, Rory made the left turn.

"Oh my God. There he is." Lane spotted Dave leaning on a car in front of his house. "God he looks good." Lane said dreamily. "Doesn't he look good?"

Rory and Lane shared this bit almost every time they talked about Dave. "Yes he does," she recited her line.

Rory pulled up along the side of the curb and Lane opened her door a little too quickly, the car was still in motion.

"Uh Lane." Rory laughed.

"Oh my God, I don't know what came over me. Augh, I'm such a nerd. What the hell is wrong with me Rory?" Lane ranted, completely embarrassed.

"Maybe he didn't notice." Rory said trying to calm her friend down. 

"Oh I think he noticed."

Dave walked over to the jeep with one of those ear to ear grins.

"Hi Lane."

Lane bashfully scanned the ground before she could look him in the eyes.

"Hey Dave," she tried to say coolly, attempting to play off her previous act of loony-ness.

Dave saw it of course, but didn't want to embarrass her any further… she was already blushing. He glanced behind her at Rory and greeted her.

"What's up Rory, how are you today?"

"I'm good."

He looked back at Lane. "Are we ready to go?"

"Um yeah, let's go."

"So where should I sit?" Dave asked as he caught a glimpse at the backseats which were covered with un-nameable stuff.

Lane looked at Rory.

"Oh no, I totally forgot to take the stuff out from the back… um, I guess you'll have to squeeze in with Lane if that's okay."

"Uh, is that okay Lane?" Dave asked with a hokey smile. 

_Hell, make yourself comfortable on my lap!_ "Yeah, sure." Lane said, a mighty grin fighting its way through her tightly pressed lips that were desperately trying to keep her face straight. She scooted over her seat, making room for him. Trying to calm down her giddiness, she turned to Rory letting out the humongous grin before collecting herself when he was finally situated next to her.

Somewhere during the thirty-minute drive to Hartford, Dave had stretched his arm around Lane in an attempt to make himself more comfortable… that and he felt it was the most natural thing to do. Unbeknownst to him, Lane's giddiness was going into overdrive, she nearly fainted.

**`**~// ****Hartford****: Two Level Coffee House/Bookstore \\~**'**

Once they stepped inside, the three were overcome with the strong aroma of coffee and music. Off in the far corner they spotted a live band playing acoustically to coffee and book patrons, some watching on while others read magazines or books as they listened. The place was huge, holding a variety of activities that many of its customers could partake in. From an extensive collection of books and magazines that they were welcomed to read without purchasing to cd listening to even a dvd viewing in a closed room, usually offering three different viewable movies on the weekends. They could find all this plus a coffee/café on the first floor. The second level also held many books and magazines, but it was reserved for people who wanted to read or study without too much of the downstairs commotion.

"You're late." Paris bum-rushed Rory once she caught sight of her.

"Hello to you to Paris," Rory greeted back acerbically.

"Hey Paris." Lane greeted. "I'm sorry she's late, it's entirely my fault."

"Enough with the pleasantries, let's go, we're losing precious time here," she snapped dragging Rory's backpack, still on Rory's shoulders of course, upstairs before she could say her laters to Lane and Dave.

"Let's go find a table." Dave comfortably placed his hand behind Lane's back as they walked towards the tables and couches that surrounded the band.

A couple hours and several Paris doctorials later…

Rory's cell phone rang; she looked at the screen which displayed Mrs. Kim.

"I'll be back in a sec." Rory quickly left, ignoring Paris' objections. She hastily ran downstairs and thankfully bumped into Lane and Dave as she reached the bottom. They were headed upstairs themselves.

She held the phone up to Lane's face. "It's your mom." Lane prepared herself as Rory answered the phone. "Hello?... Yes Mrs. Kim, she's right here. Hold on." She handed it to Lane, who walked away from the two to a quieter spot in the books section.

"Hello Mama?"

"Lane. Is that music I hear? Where are you?"

"We're still at that coffee house I told you about." Just at that moment the band was taking five, leaving the place music—less, but still full of people conversating.

"I thought I heard music."

"Um no Mama, no music," she said, hoping her mother wouldn't continue on that subject.

"I just called to check up on you," she said bluntly, Mrs. Kim never hid her intentions.

"We're fine Mama."

"Okay… I'll see you when you get home."

"Bye."

Lane joined Rory and Dave.

"Everything cool?" Rory asked sympathizing with her friend.

"Yup. Everything's A OK," she said thankfully.

"Okay, so you guys have an hour left." Rory said as she looked at her watch.

"Alright, well since my mom already did the routine check-up thing, I think it's safe to say that Dave and I can walk across the street to the park."

"Okay. Just try to stay in a place where I can easily find you, you know just in case."

"Right. Good idea," Lane agreed.

**`**~// ****Hartford****Park****: Thirty Minutes Later \\~**`**

Lane and Dave were seated at a park bench under a big magnolia tree, their conversation on everything about music had finally fizzled for the time being and the topic at hand was them. Lane sat on the bench with her legs crossed Indian style, facing Dave who was sitting regularly, his body turned towards her, his arm resting on the top of the bench's back. 

"I'm really glad that you figured out a way to see me tonight," Dave said happily.

"Yeah me too… this was a lot of fun. That acoustic version of Tiny Dancer was almost as good as the one that Dave Ghrol did on the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborne."

Dave ageed without having to say a word.

Momentary comfortable silence filled the air as they lost themselves in each other's eyes.

"Okay I'm just gonna go right out and say this…" Dave rests his hand on Lane's leg. "You know I like you Lane," he said carefully, giving her a timid but sure smile, "and I kinda get the impression that you-"

"I do…" Lane smacked herself internally for her abruptness, she really needed to work on that. She glanced at his hand on her leg, "… like you."

Dave loved her abruptness, it showed how she really felt about him and he found it quite appealing. 

"Good… good." he said slightly nodding his head, smiling inwardly as well as outwardly. 'So far so good,' he thought to himself, mentally preparing himself for what he was going to say next.

"I just hope this relationship doesn't turn into a Gwen Stefani/Tony Kanal romance." 'How can you not like this girl?' Dave had been meaning to ask if she wanted to date exclusively, but didn't know how to go about it without sounding too cheesy. With her bringing it up first, definitely took the load off of him, he already knew how he felt.

"So… you're saying you want to be in a relationship with me?" He asked, suppressing his smile for the moment.

She didn't realize what had come out of her mouth. 'I hate my mouth!' She panicked, "Um, I didn't-" 

"I would like it if you did… want to." Dave helped.

Lane smiled. Dave was so… what's the word… sweet like that. 

"Yeah I do want to." _EEE_!! She mentally shrieked, it was so loud in her head. She wouldn't be surprised if he heard it.

Making it official, Dave leaned in and placed an innocent kiss on her unsuspecting lips. Suddenly aware that she didn't have to worry about being seen by her mother, she placed both her hands on either side of his cheeks, giving him permission to go beyond the innocent smooch. They pulled away at the same time, equal grins plastered across their face. 

"I think I could get used to that." He commented, finally letting out his smile, completely relieved that everything went better than he had hoped.

'You can say that again,' Lane joked to herself, "I think I could get used to this too," her smile identical to his.

"Oh I forgot to tell you… we finally got a gig at this kid's bat mitzvah."

"You're kidding." 

"I kid you not. It's just a fifteen minute set, probably about three songs. We're gonna have to meet up sooner than our regular practice day to decide which songs to do."

"But we only have two songs that we're really good at."

"Yeah I know, we're gonna have to decide on a third song and then practice it to death until it sounds just as good as the other two."

"Well when is it?"

"It's in two weeks actually, so you're gonna have to figure out another plan because you have to be there Lane. Do you think you'll be able to pull it off?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Lane had become an expert at the whole sneaking around Mama Kim thing.  

**`**~// A Weeks Later: Friday Afternoon \\~**`**

Rory stepped off the bus, ecstatic that today was the last day of school, feeling completely free because her summer had officially begun. She felt the need to rub it in on a certain boyfriend who still had a week left of school. She headed over to the diner.

"Hey Luke." She looked around the diner, but Jess was no where to be found.

"He's upstairs." 

"Um… do you mind if I go upstairs?"

"Uh, no, go right ahead." He'd already laid down his rules with Jess and felt confident he would follow them… well at least he hoped he'd follow them… he'd definitely make sure he'd follow them or Jess would have to suffer the consequences… what the consequences were exactly, he wasn't so sure about yet.

Rory knocked on the apartment door. 

"It's open." 

She walked in and saw Jess at the table with his books in front of him, seemingly busy writing something down.

He looked up. "Hey," he said toneless, caught up in studying mode. 

She joined him at the table. "Why so glum chum?" Rory asked with a hint of gloat.

"Stop gloating," he said knowingly. 

"I am not gloating," she denied happily.

"You are too… final project go well?"

"Good, very good… great in fact. I hate to say it but being paired with Paris certainly has its advantages."

"Huh."

"Do you want me to leave so you can study? You looked like you were on a roll when I walked in."

He turned in his chair sideways. "Nooo." He pulled her chair near his, tapping her knee with his pencil. "Actually, I think it's time for a break."

She smiled. "Ten minutes and I have to go."

"Why?"

"You need to get back to studying and if I stay I'll just be distraction."

"Come on… you could help me study."

"You know as well as I do that studying together leads to anything but studying." A past failed attempt could back that up. Their relationship was too new and exciting and the one time they tried to study together only led to mindless flirtatious banter.

"I promise I'll study, you don't even have to help me. You could just sit here with me." She gave him an 'I don't know look'. "Come on Rory." He whined. "I haven't spent any real time with you in the last two weeks and now that you don't have any more projects to work on or finals to study for, we can finally spend some time together." He finally let out his bottled frustration, completely justifiable.

Jess got up from his chair and went over to the stack of books on his side of the room and pulled one out. "Here." He handed the book to her. "You read this, and I'll study," he enticed.

She gave in, he didn't have to beg, she wanted to stay, she wanted to be near him. "Okay, but any signs of you not getting any work done I'm leaving," she warned.

"Deal… I'm still gettin' the ten minute break right?"

"Of course." She grinned.

"So… what do you wanna do?" He asked mischievously, making little circles on her knee.

She shrugged. "What do you wanna do?"

"Well since I promised to study… I think it would be best if I get something out of my system now so I can completely give my all to studying later."

Catching on, "And what pray-tell might that be?"

He gently pulled her onto his lap, draping an arm across her lap, while the other rested on her lower back, moments later she could feel his thumb touching the bare skin above her skirt. She couldn't figure out how he skillfully managed that, the last time she checked her shirt was tucked into her uniform skirt. 

Soon their faces were just inches apart. She leaned in shortening the distance even more, closing her eyes, eagerly waiting to feel his lips touch hers. Jess made it official to himself, Rory's lips were unquestionably his favorite body part on Rory… for the moment anyway.

He lifted his hand from her lap letting his fingertips lightly stroke her neck as they deepened the kiss. His fingers slowly slid down her neck approaching the swell of her breast. Before she could even process what he was about to touch…

Luke burst through the apartment door and Rory almost fell off Jess' lap as she scrambled to her feet.

"Jess, can I talk to you out here for a sec?" Luke ordered, not really questioning.

Jess looked at a flushed Rory, scratching his head as a gesture of uneasiness and slight embarrassment. He walked out into the hall and Luke closed the door behind them.

"I thought I told you to leave this door open when the two of you were up here alone." He quietly scolded pointing a finger at him.

"Must've slipped my mind," Jess said being the smart-ass that he was when talking to his uncle.  
  


"Jess," Luke warned.

"Would you relax, nothin' happened."

"And nothing's going to ever happen."

"Ah geeze, what do you think I'm gonna do to her?"

"You know exactly what I think you're going to do to her."

"I know it's been a while since you've been with someone, but last time I checked, you can't get a girl pregnant by just kissing Luke," he retorted snidely.

"Shut up… I'm going back downstairs and this door will remain open at all times," his hand gestures emphasizing every point. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal," he smirked.

"I mean it Jess."

"Alright," completely annoyed with his uncle.

"I'll be back later to check on you two," he forewarned.

Jess rolled his eyes at him and went inside the apartment leaving the door wide open.

**A/N:** Okay guys, some sad news to report… a new semester of school starts tomorrow so I don't know when or if I'll have time to update this story so… SORRY  : (  I promise I'll try my best to squeeze in some time!! 

Laters!!


	20. Do I know you?

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah 

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

Okay, I'm back... not for long though for school still exists. I've attempted to create a new character. Hope you guys like her- and for those in need of a visual, let's just say she resembles Mandy Moore. Again, thanks for the reviews, as always I love reading each an every one of them!

**`**~// ****Stars Hollow Town Square****: Stars Hollow Annual Adopt a Puppy Day \\~**`**

"Hey Tristan what about this one?" Rory giggled.

"That has to be the biggest puppy I've ever seen." Tristan scoffed.

"Yeah, but he's so cute," she cooed.

"Hate to burst your bubble Mary, but my sister wants something that actually looks like a puppy- ya know, small and cute."

"Ah come on. Are you sure that's what she wants? She'll have so much fun with this one… so what if he's huge, he's still cute… Ooo and it's big enough to ride like a pony." Rory said. 

"She has a pony." Tristan said it like it was no big deal and all ten year old girls had ponies.

"But this is a puppy. I don't think she knows about riding puppies," she said, not mindful of her words.

Tristan cocked an eyebrow at her.

"God Tristan, you could be so gross sometimes. The naughty things your pea brain can come up with astound me."

He chuckled, raising his hands in defense. "Hey. Speak for yourself, I didn't say anything."

"Whatever. I'm an expert reader of body language."

"Oh really," he said intriguingly, flirtatiously leaning towards her.

"Nevermind. I take it back," she said backing away from him, pushing a hand against his chest to fend him off.

"If you want that puppy so bad Mary, I'll get it for you."

Rory's eyes widened at the thought, but quickly saddened as she came to her senses. She huffed, "As much as I'd love to have him, I think it's actually illegal for my mom and I to have a puppy… I believe actual laws have been made."

"Alright, but if you change your mind, all you have to do is tell me and he's yours," he said in a silly cocky way.

She sighed. "No," she said solemnly. "I don't want to torture the poor little fella. He couldn't survive one day in the Gilmore household, he'd probably commit suicide."

Tristan chuckled. 

"So, you said your sister wants a midget puppy…," she started glancing through the other cages with Tristan behind her.

**`**~// ****Kim****Home**** \\~**`**

Chi-ding.

Mrs. Kim was dusting off an antique chair when she heard the bell ding on the door. She made her way to the front door to greet her new customer.

"Welcome. Everything is half off. Good only today," she sold.

The seventeen year old girl smiled at Mrs. Kim waiting for her to remember who she was.

"Hi Mrs. Kim."

"Do I know you?" 

"Yes, you do." The girl smiled sweetly at her.

Mrs. Kim took a closer look at the girl. Her face started to look familiar to her, but for the life of her she couldn't bring herself to remember who she was. In an attempt to help Mrs. Kim out, the girl halved her dirty blonde hair and gathered the two parts twisting them into two high little buns on both sides of her head.

Then it finally dawned on Mrs. Kim as to who this young lady was. "Sydney?" She asked taken completely by surprise.

The girl nodded yes.

Mrs. Kim's face lit up. "You got big… but you're still too skinny." She looked the girl up and down not believing how tall she had grown since she last saw her when she was thirteen years old. "You've been doing okay?" Mrs. Kim stuffed her dusting rag in her shirt jacket's pocket and wrapped her arm around Sydney's shoulder, urging her inside the house.

"Yeah, I've been doing okay… I've missed everyone so much." Sydney said as a lump in her throat started to form as the realization that she was back in Stars Hollow set in.

"Mama?" Lane came walking out of the kitchen remembering her way thru the maze of antiques. 

"Lane, look who's here." She took the girl by the shoulders as if presenting her to Lane.

"Oh my God!" Lane shrieked and quickly ran to the girl, throwing her arms around her dear friend. "Oh my God. I can't believe you're actually here."

"I know." Tears slowly made their way down Syndey's cheeks, she couldn't remember being this happy, well she could, but she'd have to go back in time when she lived in Stars Hollow.

They pulled out of the hug. "Aw don't cry, you're gonna make me cry." Lane pleaded, now fighting back her own happy tears… but the tears won.

"God it's so good to see you. I've missed you so much." Sydney cried, pulling Lane back in to a hug, never wanting to let go, for fear she was dreaming.

They pulled out of the hug again. "How long are you visiting for? Please tell me for the rest of the summer."

Sydney grinned happily. "Even better, we're moving back."

"Nu-uh!" Lane said disbelieving, hoping she was really telling the truth.

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nu-uh!" Lane couldn't believe her best friend was moving back.

The two girls shrieked and jumped up and down like two pre-teen girls would after they had just met Justin Timberlake. Mrs. Kim stood back and watched the two reunite. She was very pleased to hear that Sydney was moving back to Stars Hollow.

"How are your parents, why didn't they come with you?" Mrs. Kim questioned.

"Oh they're still at the house unloading the movers' truck. They told me they'd be by later, but I just couldn't wait to see you guys, so I left the moving mess to them for a little while."

Mrs. Kim loved Sydney… of course she loved Rory too, but Sydney had two parents that were still married and another plus- they didn't have her when they were young like Lorelai.

"Hey have you seen Rory yet?" Lane asked, wiping away her own tears.

"No, I haven't. I wanted to come by and get you first since you live down the street from us and we could go over to her place together." She looked over to Lane's mom. "Is it alright if she comes along Mrs. Kim?" She asked politely.

"Yes. That will be fine."

The two interlocked arms and walked out the front door.

"Why didn't you tell us you were moving back?" Lane said a little disappointed, after all, they told each other everything.

"Well I wanted to surprise everyone. You wouldn't believe how hard it was not to tell you guys. I've known for a couple of months now."

"I guess I can forgive you, it was a very good surprise. Rory's gonna faint."

The three were inseparable, being childhood best friends since they were in pre-school. Four years ago, Sydney's father received a job promotion and he had to move his family to Florida. He received yet another promotion allowing him to move his family back to their beloved Stars Hollow. Sydney's father felt awful for uprooting his family, especially Sydney, who took the move the hardest. For about a month after the move, she became depressed. Lane and Rory even took a trip there for a couple of weeks during that summer to help cheer her up… which was exactly what she needed. 

After the two left, Sydney started the new school year with high spirits and finally adjusted to her new surroundings, but she was more than ecstatic to move back to Stars Hollow, back to her two best friends and the town she grew up in. Over the years, the three remained in constant contact, with e-mails and phone calls, but the trip that Lane and Rory made to Florida was the last time they had actually seen one another.  

**`**~// Gilmore Home \\~**`**

"I'm comin'! I'm comin'!" Lorelai yelled as she hopped down the stairs with one leg while trying to put her pump on the other. "Ooof……….. Don't leave! I'll be right there!" She landed on the bottom stair and slipped on the pair. She had fallen asleep earlier and when she realized that she had to be to work with in the next ten minutes, she rushed to get ready. She took some minutes throwing her clothes on before she could answer the door.

She finally opened the door.

"Hey." The two girls greeted.

"Hi Lane and girl I don't know."

"Lorelai." Sydney said slightly disappointed that she didn't recognize her.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you from somewhere? Because I can obviously tell that you know me and I would feel just terrible to say that I have no idea who you are."

"Lorelai." Sydney scolded, now knowing that she was just playing with her.

"Ah I'm kidding. Eee!! Come give me a hug!" Lorelai embraced Sydney like she was her own daughter. "Oh how I've missed you girly, let me have look at you." Lorelai pulled out of the hug. "My, my, my, someone's been hit with the tall and pretty stick. Geeze you're just as tall as I am." 

Sydney had wavy, medium length dirty blond hair and gorgeously innocent grey eyes. Some say that she kind of looked like Mandy Moore.

"Is Rory here?" Sydney couldn't wait to surprise her.

"Aw you just missed her. She went to the Annual Stars Hollow Adopt-A-Puppy at the Town Square. Come on, I'll drop you guys off on my way to work."

**`**~// ****Stars Hollow Town Square**** \\~**`**

"Okay you two have fun and when I'm done playing work we'll all have dinner at Luke's."

The two spotted Rory over by the puppy cages, her back turned to them, and immediately Sydney took off with Lane linked arm and arm with her, running across the grass.

The two stopped right behind Rory and Tristan.

"Hey Gilmore!" Sydney cried scaring the wits out of both of them.

Rory quickly turned around when she heard that all too familiar voice, "Sydney? Oh my God! What are you doing here?!" The two hugged almost falling over. Rory held Sydney back with her hands on her shoulders. "Wait a second, why didn't I know you were coming?" 

Sydney laughed. "Surprise, I moving back!"

Rory's eyes widened, happy tears slowly gathered at the edge of her eyes waiting to fall. "You're kidding!"

"Nope!" Her tears mirroring the same position as Rory's.

"Oh my God, I can't believe this!" She turned to Lane. "Lane, she's moving back!" She cried to Lane as if she didn't know.

"I know!" Lane's tears making their appearance again.

Sydney put her arms around her two best friends and they all shrieked happily ever after…

Until…

"Ahem." Tristan cleared his throat at being forgotten yet again.

The three teary eyed girls glanced at the boy who had the nerve to interrupt their joyous moment.

He extended his hand to the new girl. "Hi, I'm Tristan Dugrey." He greeted ever-so charmingly, feeling the need to throw his last name out there.

The three smirked at him.

Sydney just looked at his hand and then into his eyes and was instantly drawn to him. 

"Don't worry, I don't bite… unless you're-"

"Tristan." Rory warned.

Tristan smirked at Rory and glanced back at Sydney still waiting for her to shake his hand.

"Sydney." She stated her name and took his offer of a hand shake.

"Such a pretty name for such a beautiful girl," he flirted.

"Oh boy." Both Rory and Lane said in unison.

Neither letting the other's hand go. "So you're Tristan." Sydney said, slightly intrigued. Rory never told her how incredibly hot he was.

"Why you've heard of me." He said cockily and looked over at Rory. 

"Yes Tristan, you are worthy." Rory groaned before he had a chance to ask.

Sydney released her hand from his. "I wouldn't get so excited. I don't recall Rory saying good things." She played.

Tristan raised his brows at Rory in amazement. "This one's almost as feisty as you are Rory," he said slyly, thumbing in Sydney's direction. "What did you tell her?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? It's killing you isn't it?" Rory teased.

"I hate it when you do that."

"What?" Rory asked sweetly.

Tristan shook his head at her. "After all I've done for you, this is the thanks I get," he playfully laid on the guilt.

"Tristan…" Rory took the guilt bait.

"No… it's ok, I see how it is," he hassled.

"Tristan-"

"Don't worry Tristan I was just kidding. She told me some very nice things about you." Sydney cajoled. 'Behind the arrogant, cocky exterior, there's a nice guy hidden in there somewhere' was what Rory told her about this Tristan character. He must have been nice enough to help Rory get things going with Jess, when he himself had 'a thing for Rory' as Dean would say. Finally after all these years, hearing about all the guys in Rory's and Lane's lives, she was going to finally be able to put faces to names. 

"Ha-ha I knew it," Tristan throwing a satisfied grin at Rory, which in turn earned him some eye-rolling.

"Hey Rory, your mom wants us to meet for dinner at Luke's, but I can't wait till dinner to have Luke's burger and rings……….plus I can't wait to see Luke."

"Yeah, okay. Tristan, do you mind if we take a break to get a bite to eat?" Rory asked.

"I thought you'd never ask."

As they walked to the diner, Tristan fell into step with Sydney. 

"So… what 'very nice things' did Rory tell you about me?" Tristan slyly asked.

"Don't give him the satisfaction Syd, his head is big enough as it is."

"Why Rory you-"

"-wound me… yes I know, you really need some new material Tristan. You've killed that line." Rory taunted.

Tristan finally was at a lost for a witty comeback and could only give her his trademark smirk.

"Wow Tristan, I finally got your tongue." Rory said satisfied.

Tristan cocked an eyebrow.

"Ah geeze." She got that from Jess of course. "Nevermind," she said defeated.

He loved how he could get her without even saying anything. 

**`**~// Luke's Diner \\~**`**

The door jingled signaling the four had arrived at the diner. 

Rory instantly scanned the room for her boyfriend and finally spotted him trying to fix the toaster behind the counter. Rory headed over to the counter with Sydney while Lane and Tristan sat at a table in the middle of the diner. Sensing Rory's presence, Jess automatically looked up, his face immediately lit up.

"Hey." Jess said, leaving the now forgotten toaster behind and leaned over the counter to give Rory a kiss.

"Jess, I'd like you to meet Sydney," Rory introduced.

"So you're the famous Jess."

Jess raised an eyebrow, confused as to why he was famous.

"Rory's told me so much about you. I knew she'd find someone who shared the same obsession about books as she does."

Tristan over hearing the conversation couldn't help but feel a little bitter that Rory was with Jess, but he quickly dismissed it. Her love for reading turned the crush he had on Rory to honest and sincere liking… had being the operative word he reminded himself over and over. Rory was a bookworm, signifying that she was intelligent and smart, which indeed she was. He'd have to admit that her innocent beauty was what lured him in, but that fact that she had brains made her all the more fascinating. In the beginning, it was hard to restrain himself from trying to turn the whole thing into a competition with Jess, but he realized that Jess was the one she wanted. 

Jess started to nod as he remembered her as 'the Sydney', the missing musketeer.

"Ah, you're the famous Sydney. I feel like I know you, Rory talks about you all the time."

"Yeah I can say the same about you too." Jess was definitely how Rory described. He did have the kind of eyes where with one look, you would do anything he asked. And by the way his eyes lit up when he saw her, she could tell that Rory could possibly have the same effect on him. "Oh hey Jess, is Luke here?" 

"Uh yeah, he's in the back… Luke!" Jess called.

Luke walked out balancing four plates of food. "Jess could I get some help here." Jess relieved his uncle of two plates. "Those go over to that corner table," he said as he gestured the direction. 

"Hey Luke." Rory said, waiting for him to recognize Sydney.

"Rory." He greeted back handing the two remaining plates to the customers sitting at the end of the counter. "Who's you're friend?"

"Hi Luke." Sydney said grinning.

"Do I know you?"

"Man I've been getting that a lot today," she chuckled. "It's me Luke, Sydney."

"Sydney? What are you doing back in Stars Hollow?" He asked as he went around the counter, throwing an arm around her shoulder, his way of giving her a hug.

"We're moving back."

"Really?" Luke said genuinely pleased.

"Uh-huh."

"That's great. So how have you been doing?" He remembered her dad telling him how depressed she had gotten when she moved to Florida. Luke was close with Sydney's father. He was actually the only other male in their town that he could have a normal friendship with.

"I'm really great… now that I'm back here."

"How's your dad, he never mentioned you guys were moving back." Luke and Sydney's father remained close friends after their move to Florida, occasionally talking over the phone.

"Yeah we decided that we wanted to surprise everyone."

"Must've been hard not to tell those two." Luke said, talking about Rory and Lane.

"Oh yeah… extremely hard. I almost broke down when I talked to them last week."

"Hey tell you're parents to come by for dinner, we'll have one of those welcome back dinners." 

"Yeah, okay… but Luke… I'm really hungry," Sydney hinted.

"Burger and rings?" Luke asked knowingly as he walked back behind the counter. That was the only thing she would eat when she ate at the dinner, even at breakfast. 

"Do I ever eat anything else when I'm here?" She realized at that moment how she truly missed her town and all the lovely characters in it. 

Luke smiled. "What about you Rory?"

"Um make that three." Rory signaled to the two at the table.

"I'll have fries instead of the rings." Tristan noted and off went Luke to the back to fix up their orders.

Jess finally realized that Tristan was in the diner. He hadn't forgotten that he was going to the Adopt a Puppy thing with Rory, but he had assumed that he had already left with his newly adopted puppy. The last thing he wanted was to see this guy. He didn't know what to feel. He decided that the jealous Dean route wasn't him and figured he shouldn't let Tristan get to him. 

He stood next to Rory. 

"Hey man, I didn't see you there. How's it goin'?" Jess attempted the civil thing.

Rory and Tristan along with Lane were completely mystified.

"Uh I'm good?" He replied back both doing the guy hand-slap-shake thing.

Somehow through all the commotion, Rory forgot about Jess and Tristan having to be in the same room. She was glad to see that the testosterone levels were normal for the moment.

"Hey." Rory turned to Jess, lowering her voice. "You wanna have lunch with us?" Jess' sudden act of civility towards Tristan surprised her. She had to admit that that was the last thing she thought would ever happen between the two hotheads. She'd have to reward Jess for that, she mentally noted.

"Can't. Lunch crowd." He said matching her tone of voice.

She pouted. "Jess."

"Huh."

"I want a puppy?"

"I knew it," he laughed.

"I wanna puppy Jess. I just saw the cutest one. He begged me to take him home Jess." Rory whined, trying to look pathetically sad.

"Hey I thought you were supposed to be the reasonable one. You're starting to sound like your mom."

"I can't help it. I want one."

"I told you, Luke said no." He loved the way she looked when she couldn't get what she wanted, her eyes looked so sad and her lips turn into a delicious pout.

"Fine," Rory huffed.

Tristan couldn't help but listen in and a twinge of jealousy took a hit. It came from nowhere. He had no idea it was going to be that hard seeing them together like that. Then a Tristan thought came into his mind…'He could've gotten her.' Regret started to fill his head, but soon brushed them away when Rory and Sydney sat down at the table.

"Hey Tristan, I seriously think you should reconsider getting her that puppy. Your sister would love him." Rory persuaded.

Tristan shook his head at her as a smile crept over his face. "I told you Rory, that's not the kind of puppy she wants," he chuckled at her persistence.

"Come on. One look at him and I assure you she'll fall in love with him," she pushed.

Tristan shook his head no all the while smiling at her persistency.

"Okay, but she'll be missing out on one great puppy."

Jess couldn't help but notice the way Tristan looked at his girlfriend. He decided not to think twice about it though. 

A while later…

The four were still at the table finishing their last bites of their lunch when Rory's pager went off.

Come upstairs was what the page read.

"Um I'll be right back," Rory told the group, excusing herself.

She made her way upstairs and just as she was about to knock, Jess opened the door.

"Hi." He said playfully and grabbed Rory by the waist pulling her into the apartment.

"Jeeess…what are you up to?" 

"Nothin'." He replied, raining her face with kisses.

"Nothin' huh?" She asked, thoroughly enjoying his kisses. "Mmm."

"That's right." He managed to say through his kisses, backing her up towards his bed.

"Jess…" Rory's inner red light flashed when she realized he was leading her to his bed.

"Hmm."

"I can't stay long, Sydney's here … and Tristan," she said struggling for excuses. 

"I know. I won't be long."

"Uh-huh," totally not believing him. They landed on his bed with him on top of her. He rested his elbows on either side of her shoulders, softly stroking her hair and all of a sudden, with one look into his eyes, the red light disappeared. 

"You know what?" He asked cutely.

"What?" 

"You have pretty hair?" He said playfully.

"Why thank you. Your have pretty hair too." She smiled sweetly, petting him on the head. 

"And. . . you have the most incredible eyes," he said kissing both lids.

"Uhh-huh, what do you think you're doing?" She asked suspiciously.

"What, can't a guy tell his girlfriend she has pretty hair and incredible eyes?" He said harmlessly.

"Coming from you… no… you are buttering me up Mr."

"What?" He said feigning innocence. 

"Would you like to tell me what's going on here Jess?"

"Nothin'. I just felt the need to adore you. That is all." 

"Okay. Well. In that case… continue." She knew there were some hidden intentions in there somewhere. She couldn't wait to find out what they were.

"Hmm, where was I? Ah yes… pretty hair, incredible eyes… let's see here…" His eyes rested on her lips. His voice lowered, "your lips. . . " He suddenly became serious, bringing his lips to hers. "You have no idea what your lips do to me Rory," he muttered against her lips before kissing her. His lips moved slowly against hers, careful not to lose himself in them. She made it difficult though as she became heated by the kiss, increasing his slow pace. And before he thought he might actually maintain some amount control, he felt her hands immediately take their places in his hair and slide through it in the way she always did, making him lose his ability to think straight.

Rory turned to jello at the sound of his voice just then. She heard the sincerity in it when she could only see lust in his eyes. That was good enough for her, he was a guy after all. You could only ask for so much.

He reluctantly pulled away from her lips to continue his adoration of her." He gently touched the small dimple on her chin. "And this little dimple on your chin, drives me nuts when you smile." He replaced his thumb with his lips giving her dimple a light smooch. He started to move down her jaw line, and settled on her neck a minute before journeying further down.

"Jess… " Rory said breathily.

"Hmm."

"I think we need to stop."

"Mm-uh." He groaned a protest.

"Jess… we need to stop," her voice becoming her own again.

"Okay," he agreed but didn't stop devouring her neck. He started downward and stopped short when lips hit the zipper of her hooded shirt. "Hey, if I pulled this zipper down, what would I find?"

She was only wearing a bra. Then she remembered it was just a plain white one with no lace or anything sexy like that. 'Oh God, I am never wearing this bra ever again.' 

"Jess. Come on, I have to go back downstairs."

"Fine. You're no fun," he joked.

Rory knew he was just playing, but she couldn't help but take it to heart. She thought of Shane and all the possible 'fun' things they did together and suddenly felt inadequate.

Jess realized he had said something wrong. "I was just kidding Rory."

"I know."

"No seriously. You are a very fun girl," he said honestly. He really should choose his words better. 

"Uh-huh," she said looking away.

"Rory…"

"Look I know that I'm no Shane-"

"Ah, Rory. Come on, that's not what I meant."

"I know that Shane must've been-"

"Rory don't…"

"Jess… just know that I'm not a Shane. Okay?"

"You are definitely not a Shane. I don't want a Shane. I want a Rory," he said childishly and this brought a smile to her face. "Rory?"

"Huh?"

"Are you gonna answer my question or do I have to find out for myself," he said playing with her zipper, ready to pull the sucker down.

"Jess!" Rory's eyes widened at his playfulness.

"I'm kidding, geeze, can't you take a joke." He pulled her to her feet, helping her straighten up by smoothing her hair.

"Hey."

"Hmm."

"Thanks for being civil with Tristan earlier."

He nodded his head. "Not a problem."

They stood silently for a moment.

"Didn't you say you had to go back downstairs?"

"Yup."

"Well…"

Rory wrapped her arms around his neck and laid smooth sensual kisses on his lips, backing him towards the bed. Jess chuckled under her lips.   

**A/N:** You know what to do to make me happy!!


	21. Julius That Lucky Bastard!

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah 

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**.**

Gather 'round children… it's STORY TIME!!!

**`**~// Luke's Diner: Late Afternoon \\~**'**

Rory was sitting at the counter enjoying her cup of coffee, contently waiting for her burger to arrive, when out of nowhere she heard…

_Pssst__.___

Rory peeked through the corner of her eye in the direction of the 'pssst' sound, not moving her head. She wasn't sure if she was just hearing things. 

_Pssst__.___

And there it was again.

Rory scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, not knowing if the 'psst' was directed at her. She ignored it and resumed sipping her coffee again.

**_Psssssst_****_!_**

_What the hell?_ She finally cocked her head in the direction of the storage room and her eyes fell upon a certain dark haired boy desperately trying to get her attention. He gestured a 'come here' with his index finger.

Rory looked around the room, making sure no one saw the exchange. Although there was no need to, she just felt like playing along. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be in their own worlds and more importantly Luke was nowhere in sight… she made her move and darted across the room past the staircase and into the storage room, her eyes wide with wonder.

She took in his appearance. He looked refreshingly clean. _He must've just showered, she thought. His hair was still a little wet, perfectly gelled into his usual funky do, smelling of shampoo, soap, and cologne… _God he smells nice. There's nothing better than a nice smelling boyfriend_. She lost all her senses with one whiff of him and the next thing she knew, she found herself grabbing the cotton material of his shirt, pulling him towards her and covering his lips completely with her own. __*sigh* Tastes good too._

Needless to say, he was downright stunned by her forwardness. He definitely didn't expect that to happen and he would kill himself over and over for making his next move… there was a point to this meeting after all…

Jess reluctantly pulled away, his hands carefully pushing her shoulders, holding her back. He was extremely grateful that her kiss didn't reach that certain point where there would be no stopping him and the purpose of him asking her to come to him in the first place would've been forgotten. 

"Damn." Jess groaned quietly. The look of astonishment on his pretty face brought color to Rory's pale cheeks. Before she had a chance to look away, he noted the look in her eyes… so full of want and desire, with tiny hint of sex…

She glanced at her shoes… his shoes… he floor under their shoes. Yes she was a little embarrassed by her advances towards Jess, but in her defense he smelled really, really nice… _what was a girl supposed to do?_

Jess saw the embarrassment he had caused when he strangely pulled away from her assault. She still wouldn't look at him. He wished she wouldn't take it the wrong way, he loved being woman-handled. 

"Hey." He said quietly, wanting his less timid Rory back.

Rory bit her bottom lip as she brought her eyes to meet his. She couldn't help but smile at his silly little smirk.

"Shut up," she said, knowing that a teasing remark was about to leave those beautiful lips.

"I-"

"Don't say a word Jess." She playfully warned. The last thing she needed was him saying it out loud that he had some weird control over her. Some things were better left unsaid. Besides, it was more fun that way. 

His silly little smirk couldn't be contained though. She rolled her eyes at him. He was taking way too much pleasure in her aggressiveness.

"Was there a reason for this secret rendezvous?" She noticed that he was hiding something behind his back. "Whatcha got there Jess?" She grinned like a little girl on Christmas and tried to sneak a peak behind his back.

He finally revealed to her what he was hiding.

"For you." He said cheesily.

"Aww Jess…" She grinned up at him. She didn't know why she deserved such a pretty gift.

Jess shifted a little in his place. He felt kinda weird giving her a sappy gift like this, he would much rather give her a book or cd. "I know it's nothin' but-"

"-No I love it. Thank you." She really did love it. A simple gesture of a single delicate sunflower _from Jess_ made her heart skip a beat - literally. "But what is this for?" 

"Two months."

She thought for a second, "Hey, it's not for three more days. You're cheating."

"I know. Just… wanted to beat you to it."

"Not fair… but you did score some major brownie points for remembering that I love sunflowers."

"Boy scout." Jess corrected.

"Boy scout, brownie… you really think that makes a difference." She teased.

"Huh… you got me there."

She twirled the sunflower in her fingers, bringing it up to her nose to smell it. "Softy." She mumbled into the sunflower, her blue eyes tormenting his.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He smirked.

Rory didn't answer him, just smirked back. She knew he heard her. 

They stood in comfortable silence.

"So…" Jess said breaking the silence. "… you can grab me by the shirt and kiss me again if you want." He said with mock seriousness.

She laughed at his bluntness. She pretended to think about it. "No… I think I'll pass."

His eyes widened, his silly smirk appearing on his face again. She gave him no kind of indication that she would give him the pleasure again. "Geeze… you're gonna make me beg aren't you?"

She shrugged, his silly smirk was contagious. "You missed out on a one time thing there mister. Sorry, but I do believe the moment has passed."

He feigned shock, dropping his jaw, "That's mean Rory, even for you. You know how hard it was for me to pull away." He knew she was playing him and he wouldn't let her get away with it.

Rory nodded.

"Please." Jess tried to use his puppy brown eyes to his advantage, but she didn't look like she would budge.

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Positive?"

"Positive."

"Huh. Alright alright. Not a problem… bet I could get you to do it again though." He said confidently.

"Oh really." She was a bit intrigued. 

"Uh-huh."

"I'm up for a challenge." _How hard could it be? He didn't have that much hold on me… right?_

He took the sunflower from her and laid it on a small table, taking both her hands in his, perfectly entwined. She let him back her up into the corner wall away from the closed door, hidden from view behind steel shelves that were packed full with boxes of diner condiments, supplies, and canned foods. His body trapped hers with his most provocative lean. She thought that he couldn't possibly get any closer than he already was except for him actually being… _in her. __There I go again, _I'm going to hell_, she proclaimed to herself. Truthfully, that wasn't the first time she had thought about Jess being… in her. She thought about it numerous times in fact._

She could feel the rapid beat of his heart and tone-ness of his body in that one lean. She finally breathed when she realized she was holding her breath. And again with another sniff of his _nice smell_, Rory was high on Jess all over again… and in one fell swoop, just as he waged, she released her fingers from his, grabbed him by the sides of shirt and completely covered his lips with hers for the second time that day. 

There was no reason for him to pull back this time. He was getting a second chance at her advances and there was no doubt in his mind that he would take full pleasure in it… now if only he could actually think straight… he was starting to feel a little lightheaded when she did her own bang up job of leaning into him. He couldn't concentrate, there were too many things going on. One of her hands was in its rightful place in his hair, her delicate fingers working their magic, while the other was between his shoulder blades pushing him into her as if there was enough room to actually do that, and of course, if that weren't enough, there was _her_ lean. He could effectively feel her curves against him. They upped the kiss into a steamy one for a few short minutes. Rory would emphasize 'short' minutes. She was slightly disappointed when she later found her lips devoid of his in a flash. 

His body used hers as a prop. He laid his head on her shoulder, desperately trying to regain his senses and calm his breathing. His body was glued to hers, his hands holding her hips, using them to steady himself. She used this moment for her own benefit too, regaining her own momentum. She could feel the warm breath he emitted against her neck, secretly wishing he would continue… and as if he were reading her mind, she felt his warm lips move hungrily over her neck. 

"Jessss…" Rory hissed. _Did I just hiss?_

_Did she just hiss?_ He smiled against her skin. 

He inwardly begged her not to say stop. It was excruciating enough as it is to stop and take a breather. 

But when he felt her moan under his lips, it assured him she was saying his name out of pleasure. He took it as a sign to venture on. He backed away, giving him sufficient room for his hand to join in. His lips kissed the soft skin on her clavicle as his fingertips ran the distance from her jaw - line to the place just above her breast. His lips now taking the same exact route his fingertips had just taken. He stopped. Looked dead into her now deep blue eyes… seeking permission for his next move.

She kissed him and although her green light was blinding, he was able to continue the task at hand… literally. Their lips still connected, he carefully brought his hand down to her breast and at that same moment he gently squeezed, he felt her wince against his mouth. 

He brought his other hand to the pair and caressed and fondled, unable to get enough of her. Jess took a gander and busied himself with the simple task of unbuttoning her shirt. 

_Oh god… OH GOD!_ Rory panicked. Her mind went blank. She prayed she was wearing one of her pretty bras.

Jess smirked and slightly laughed. 

_Oh this is so not good_. She opened her eyes a little and saw Jess with a huge grin on his face seeming laughing at her chest. Rory grabbed the flaps of her shirt to cover herself but Jess stopped her. She couldn't look at him, flushed cheeks were so hard to hide so the next best thing is to believe that by not looking at him, he couldn't possibly notice her rosy complexion. She knew the idea was ridiculously absurd. 

"Didn't know you were into Paul Frank." He said, quickly glancing at her chest.

She looked down at her chest and rightfully so both of her boobs were covered with the face of Julius the cheeky monkey. She wanted to kill her mother. She was the one who gave it to her on her birthday… she wanted to kill herself for actually putting it on. She had to admit… it was her favorite… until now…

She chuckled. "You should see my underwear." She teased. She might as well take light in the situation. 

He cocked an eyebrow at her. She definitely caught his interest. 

"I was kidding Jess." She couldn't believe she had just said that aloud. 

"Oh nonononono, I have to see the matching underwear Rory. You can't leave me hanging here." He boldly placed his fingers on her belt buckle, ready to do some _UN-buckling_. He knew deep down she would object to it, but there was no reason not to flirt with the idea.

"Jess!" Her hands were on his, preventing him from carrying on.

"Ah come on Rory, just a peek. I promise I won't think any dirty thoughts." He gave her his best pouty puppy face. "Just a peak. I'll keep my hands to myself… I just want to see." He really did just want to see the matching undies.

To her surprise, she actually thought about it. _Oh what the hell… he is my boyfriend… it is just underwear… underwear covering my most private of privates… but nevertheless, it covered… _

"Fine. But just a peek." She felt her cheeks warm up… the weird things she did around Jess.

_Oh Christ._ He didn't expect her to actually do it. He thought they would playfully argue back and forth until _he finally gave in and let the whole thing go. He heard the beat of his heart pounding in his ears, but he was still able to act unfazed by it. _

She unbuckled her belt, unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, pulling the flaps aside to reveal yet another picture of Julius' face on her crotch. The underwear set really was cute. The panties looked like boy briefs except cut lower. It was teal blue with a navy outlining. 

Jess cleared his throat. "Oh my God." Jess chuckled. "Where the hell did you find those?" He felt the need to ask. He couldn't believe he still had a voice after seeing what she had shown him. He had to remind himself that he was supposed to be paying attention to the monkey face and not what was hiding behind it. 

She quickly zipped, buttoned and buckled up. "Birthday present from my mother."

"Huh. Very interesting." He managed, still playing it cool.

Silence followed and both realized that Rory's shirt was still unbuttoned, twin monkey faces staring Jess in the eyes, beckoning him to touch her again. He ran a hand through his hair, obviously a little uncomfortable with Rory standing in front of him in her bra. It was easier when they were in the throws of passion, but with that momentary break, there was some heat loss… but he definitely wanted to continue… what guy wouldn't? 

He gently took her face in his hands, lifting it up to meet his and kissed her with the same gentleness. Slowly but surely the heat was making it's come back. His hands left her face and covered both monkey faces with his hands, continuing where he left off. He pushed the teal cloth aside, uncovering her breasts. He stopped kissing her, wanting to see what he had revealed. But first, he needed to see those beautiful blue eyes and they didn't disappoint either. They were the deepest of blues- so honest and trusting… and innocent. He could tell that she was a little uncomfortable about him seeing her naked for the first time. He knew it was cliché to say in moments like these, but it had to be said…

"God Rory… you're so beautiful." He whispered genuinely. "How the hell did I ever get you?" Just when he thought that he was actually worthy of her, things like this happen and they put him back rightfully in his place again. He would never be worthy of her, no matter how hard he tried. She was so good and pure and he would only tarnish and taint her. 

She noticed the anguish in his eyes. 

"Jess… I'm the one who got you." She whispered, giving him a reassuring smile. She was the lucky one. Jess was the most amazing guy. He was smart and intellectual, he had a sense of humor that was uniquely his own, he had all the other wonderful qualities that every girl wanted and he only showed them to her, which made it all the more special. Jess' hard exterior only masked all the incredible things that he had to offer. He was the beautiful one- inside and out. She was undoubtedly the lucky one. 

She took his hand and placed it on her bare chest, kissing him passionately. "I want **_you_** Jess." She muttered against his lips. There was a double meaning to what she told him and she hoped he understood. She stopped to make sure of it. She stared deep into his eyes. "I want you Jess. I care so much about you and I don't ever want you to think that I'm too good for you when in fact you are too good for me."

He scoffed. "Hardly." He said quietly breaking the eye-contact. 

"Jess… you're ruining the moment." She said playfully, aware that his hand was still on her chest. But she went back to being serious. "I mean it Jess… we're equals okay… no one's better than the other." She gave him her stern face.

"Okay." He said giving in, just for her sake though. In his mind, she was still and will always be too good for him. 

She brought them into a kiss again, more passionate than the previous one. He broke away from her kiss, bringing his lips down to the soft pale skin where she laid his hand. She shuddered at the feel of his lips on her and she watched him and all his gentleness as he took her into his mouth. 

"Jess…" She lazily moaned. She ran her fingers wildly through his hair, urging him on by pushing herself into him. He eagerly complied, his mouth watering at her sweetness. 

Suddenly they heard the door open. Rory quickly tucked her boobs back in her bra and started buttoning her shirt and with the same haste, Jess turned around seemingly shielding her from their unwelcome visitor, mentally composing himself in the process.

"Jess? Are you back there?" Luke's voice echoed through the small room as he cautiously walked in.

"Oh crap…" Rory said in a panic whisper. Thanking God she had enough time to button all her buttons… now if she could only have enough time to get the flushed, lustful look off her face. 

Luke slowly made his appearance known to the two, walking behind the harboring steel shelves. 

"Jess, what the hell are you doing back here-" He stopped short staring in disbelief. Rory was hiding behind Jess. "R-rory?" He leaned in towards Jess. "What the hell is going on here?" He said quietly not wanting Rory to hear, but that was just impossible. 

"Nothin' Uncle Luke." He said smartly.

"Well… get back to work." Luke had no idea how to handle the situation. He didn't want to embarrass Rory… or himself for that matter… but Jess… oh boy, Jess was gonna get it later. "Oh and Rory your burger's ready." 

"O-oh o-ok, thanks Luke." Rory stammered.

Luke didn't leave the room until the two left before him. Luke shook his head behind them… _these two are just asking for trouble…_

**`**~// Gilmore Home \\~**`**

"Yeah, hello?" Lorelai answered the phone.

"Lorelai."

"Oh hey Luke, what can I do you for?"

"I have something to tell you…" He said slowly, hoping that he was doing the right thing.

"Luke I already know you're in love with me." She joked.

"What?" Luke almost peed his pants.

"Just kidding Luke, what do you have to tell me?"

_Geeze__, give a guy a heart attack. "Uh, I just caught Rory and Jess in the storage room."_

"What? What the hell were they doing in the storage room?"

"What do you think?"

"Rory was helping Jess stock the shelves?" She said hopefully.

"Iiiii don't think so. By the guilty, flushed look on their faces, I don't think they were stocking the shelves."

"Huh." Lorelai quoted Jess.

"Look I just thought you should know and maybe you could have one of those talks with Rory. I-i don't know…" Luke paused. "...you think Rory should go on the you know what?" he muttered awkwardly. "I think those two may be in for some trouble if you know what I mean."

"Huh." She quoted Jess again.

"Lorelai?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Mmhmm."

"Well. Okay. Uh, I gotta bet back to work."

"Thanks Luke."

"No problem."

They hung up their respective phones.

Lorelai dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Luke?"

"Lorelai?"

"She's not gonna get pregnant is she?"

"No, she's not… I hope. Look I'm gonna talk to Jess after I wring his neck and maybe I can scare him or somethin'. I don't know Lorelai… to tell you the truth I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I just don't want to say the wrong thing, you know? And push her into having sex with him." She sighed, "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate Jess."

"Yeah me too."

**`**~// Gilmore Home: The Next Day — Night \\~**`**

"Hello Rory." Lorelai greeted her daughter as she walked into the kitchen.

"Um… hello mother." Rory slowly greeted back. She could tell something was up.

"Come sit with me." Lorelai said patting the chair next to her.

"Ooo kay." Rory sat down at the table. "What's up?"

Lorelai looked intently at her daughter and for a moment she saw Rory when she was four years old- so full of innocence and curiosity. _When did she grow up? When did I miss it? Lorelai's heart ached a little. She smoothed Rory's hair behind her ears in a motherly fashion and smiled a proud smile. Rory had grown up a good kid. That's all she could ask for. _

_But now back to the matter at hand._ "I think you should go on the pill." She said carefully, making sure her voice wasn't overbearing.

"What?" Rory said disbelieving. "Oh my God… Luke told you?" She didn't even know why she bothered asking. _Of course Luke told her. Why wouldn't Luke tell her?_

"Honey its Luke. He's just looking out for you."

"Yeah I know…" She paused, thinking about what her mother said. "You think I should go on the pill?"

Lorelai gave her a motherly smile, an 'it'll be alright' smile.

"It's just if I go on it… it'll feel official or something."

This was exactly what Lorelai was afraid of. "Well, try not to think about it that way… I know it's easier said than done, but hey that's all I got right now. I don't know how to make you _not have sex_ and I know that I can't make you _not have sex_ because that is completely your decision to _not have sex and I'm not exactly giving you permission to __have sex, but I'm just giving you that extra precaution just in case you decide to _have sex_-" Lorelai rambled on._

"Mom?" Rory had to interrupt. She didn't think she would stop saying the word _sex_.

"Right… Rory I don't want you to have sex with Jess. I want my little girl back." Lorelai whined. It's what she really felt and there was no other way to say it.

Rory smiled and gave her mom a comforting hug. "Mommy?"

"Don't mock me child." Lorelai said as she pulled out of the hug.

"It's gonna be okay." That was all that Rory could come up with. She didn't want to lie to her mother and tell her that she wouldn't have sex with Jess. 'Cause around Jess anything was possible. She could honestly say that he was irresistible in that area and if it weren't for the interruptions, she would've… _When did things get so complicated?_ She was growing up and lately the subject of sex had been on her mind a lot. It was quite scary, but exciting at the same time.

"Promise me Rory." Lorelai dramatically begged. Her hands intertwined together in begging position. "Promise me you won't have sex with Jess." 

"Mmom." Rory tried to get up, but her mother was hugging her arm. "Down mother."

Lorelai let go of her arm and began to pout. "Okay, okay. **Fine. Go have _sex… with __Jess."_**

"Mmom."

"Sorry."

"Thank you… I'm gonna go meet up with Lane and Sydney."

"Okay." Lorelai said gloomily.

"Are you okay?" Rory said over-actively.

Her mother sighed. "Yeah I'll be fine."

Rory kissed her mother on the top of her head and walked out the door. 

**`**~// Luke's Diner \\~**`**

"So you're gonna go on the pill right?" Sydney asked after Rory had told her and Lane the conversation she had with her mother.

"Shhh." Rory looked around the diner to see if anyone heard. There weren't many people in the diner just a mother and daughter seated way across the room.

"I don't know. It's all so weird."

"I'm on the pill." Sydney said slowly.

Both Lane and Rory were surprised. 

"What? You look at me like it's a bad thing." 

"You never told us." Rory said.

"I don't know. I didn't want you guys thinking I was weird or whatever."

"What else are you not telling us?" Lane pressed.

Sydney gave them a look indicating she had sex.

Again both Lane and Rory were surprised. They usually told each other everything… the two thought about it though. They probably wouldn't have shared it either.

Rory looked at Sydney with a confused look on her face. "You said you didn't have a boyfriend in Florida."

"I didn't… I was at this party… I wasn't drunk or anything… I just felt like getting lost for a little while." Sydney's voice was soft with that last sentence. Her expression was a sad one. "My parents were having problems at the time." She stared at her fork on the table. "There was a lot of fighting and yelling…" 

They didn't know what to say. Her parent's seemed so together. 

Sydney didn't want to go on about her parents anymore. "So yeah… I had sex with a random guy. Wasn't one of my proudest moments, but I don't regret it." 

Needless to say, Lane and Rory were shocked from hearing that Sydney had casual sex. It didn't seem like her. 

"Were you on the pill before or after?" Lane asked.

"After… I was late and it scared the hell outta me, but thankfully my period was just in a funk that month." 

"Does your mom know that you're on the pill?" Rory asked.

"No, I went to one of those Planned Parenthood places." 

"Oh." 

Just then Jess came downstairs to start his shift. He noticed the three seated at the corner by the window and walked over to them.

"Hello ladies." He greeted as he stood next to Rory, his hand affectionately messaging her neck. 

The three greeted him back.

"So what's the hot topic of the hour? Did Shawn and Belle break up again?"

Rory looked up at Jess. "Why does it surprise me that you just said that?" She chuckled.

Jess just gave her a cheeky grin. He saw bits and pieces of Days when he was channel surfing early. Those names just seemed to have stuck. 

He pulled up a chair next to Rory, sitting in it backwards. "So, what are we talking about?"

"Sex." Lane said blatantly. 

"Birth-control." Syndey added.

"Huh," was all Jess could muster up. He looked behind him at an imaginary Luke. "Yeah I'm comin'!" He yelled to no one. He quickly got up from the chair, sliding it back underneath its rightful table. "Luke. Needs me… in the back." He stammered and quickly walked away.

The three smiled at the semi-embarrassed Jess.

"You guys are cruel." Rory chuckled.

**A/N:** Gimmie an R!

Gimmie an E!

Gimmie a V!

Gimmie an I!

Gimmie an E!

Gimmie a W!

YAY!!! GO TEAM GO!!! ;p 

I know my earlier A/N was a bit odd considering the rating change! You guys better not be children!!!


	22. Eep Opp Ork Ahah That Means I Love You!

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N:** I've revised some chapters… just makes me feel better. They're subtle changes, mostly in the writing, not necessarily the storyline**. **Wow. I know I haven't updated in ages. I'm so, so very sorry… bad Genevah! A very special thanks goes out to everyone who kept on reviewing and reviewing even though there were no new chapters. You know who you wonderful people are. They did inspire me to sit down and try to write, but when I did I kept hitting this humongoid block and then one day I finally got knocked unconscious! That's why I haven't updated in so long. It's the truth I tell ya! ;P Hope you haven't abandoned this story yet.

**`**~// Independence Inn – Early morning \\~**'**

Jess had been lying in the same position since last night…

Luke sensed his nephew's absence when he woke up in the middle of the night to relieve himself of the chamomile tea he drank before he went to bed. It was the one thing that soothed the stresses that Jess so graciously bestowed upon him lately. On his way to the bathroom he took a gander to see whether he was in bed or not. And sure enough when he glanced at Jess' side of the room, his sense was confirmed. There was no sign of him. Jess had disappeared once again. 

Luke stood in front of Jess' bed and stared at the emptiness of it. He let out a tired, heavy sigh. 

For the past couple of weeks, Luke noticed Jess started to disappear at the oddest hours every night and when he asked him about it, Jess gave him his usual smart ass answer. 'Why couldn't the boy just answer the goddamn question?' And the arguments didn't end there. They soon turned into whose voice was the loudest or who came up with the wittiest comeback. 

Luke wanted to give Jess boundaries, knew he needed boundaries, but Jess wasn't any ordinary seventeen year old. He was more mature for his age, aside from the adolescent shenanigans he used to pull. He could certainly fend for himself as he always had when he lived in New York with his mother. It was as if he lived by himself. He hardly ever saw his mother. Sometimes she would leave him for weeks at a time, leaving him to do as he pleased. And he would do just that. He'd never go to class, he'd just sit on the bottom steps outside his apartment with some of his friends devising their next plan of attack or for more simple pleasures, he'd read in the park. 

Ever since Jess came to live with Luke, he had to get accustomed to being told what to do. Considering he cut down, actually way down, okay completely stopped with the stealing and vandalizing and whatnot… the two things that Luke couldn't stand was his leaving at peculiar hours of the night and not showing up when he was supposed to. 'What could that kid possibly be doing in the middle of the night?' He hoped he wasn't going back to his old habits.

He certainly hasn't heard anything from Taylor… yet, anyway. 

If only Luke knew… 

He had been lying in the same position since last night…

Jess lay contentedly inside the small tool shed behind the Independence Inn… the tool shed that was once a home to his girlfriend. He found solace in everything that surrounded that tiny shed. Maybe it was because Rory once lived there. 

Rory had told him that some Rune guy crashed there for a couple of months, but he had recently moved out. Three weeks ago to be exact. Being the mischievous Jess that he was, he found himself jimmying the lock one late night and found that it was quite furnished. There was a bed. Hell there was even a toilet and bathtub. The place was just screaming 'inhabit me'. It was abandoned for the moment and it would only be fitting for him to oblige. 

He wouldn't mind living there. Although it was small, it had all the required amenities for one to survive. Well maybe not all. There was no kitchen, but that wasn't important. There was always free food at the diner. No, he wouldn't mind living there at all. He was getting tired of Luke hounding him about not being home when an ordinary seventeen year old should be at home. While he found it a little endearing that Luke cared so much, he just wished he'd lay off some. 

Jess rearranged the tiny space to suit himself more. He pushed the twin-sized bed beside the window that overlooked the lake. He would sometimes lay there with the window open and lose himself in the sky while he listened to the night's music. From the lake, to the crickets, to the many hovering trees above whose leaves swayed and rustled with the cool night breeze -- just by the quiet sounds they made together helped soothe and calm his mind, body and soul. This was where he disappeared to at such unusual late night hours. He came here to clear his mind. Sometimes to think. Sometimes to read. Sometimes to think about Rory . . . most of the time to think about Rory. She had unintentionally invaded his every thought. He never thought so much about a girl. 

That night he came to a conclusion. He loved the girl. To the truest sense of the word, he loved Rory. The feeling was always there, he just never wanted to admit it, maybe because it scared the shit out of him. After all, love was never an easy thing for him. It wasn't like he grew up around love. But when he was around her, he felt it. He loved her. 

He allowed himself to smile a small smile. Who couldn't love that girl?

It finally dawned on him what time it was. He would have to get up in a little while… the people of Stars Hollow would be up and about soon and more importantly the people visiting Stars Hollow staying at the Independence Inn were probably already up and ready to disturb him with all the chattering they did when they took their morning stroll down to the lake. Not only that, his shift would start soon at the diner. He knew all this but he couldn't for the life of him get his body to react.

Soon enough, the darkness was fading outside, signaling him to get his ass out of there. He forced himself up and carried out the same stealthy task of leaving the shed as he did coming in. Usually, he would have immediately left, but when he looked up and saw the magnificent colors painting the morning skies, he had to watch. He walked towards the lake and leaned against the creamy white wooden railing. He watched the sun slowly rise above and below him. The reflection off the lake was just as impressive. 

That was when she noticed him. 

What was Jess doing there so early in the morning? It was about five fifteen. Her reason for being there was as a favor for her mother. There was a wedding to take place that afternoon, Sookie's wedding, and she was there to make sure that everything was being set up properly. She had to be there when all the designated Stars Hollow wedding setter-uppers arrived. They were on strict orders by Lorelai not to be late. Each and every one of them knew their duties and was expected to perform them with the utmost perfection for two of Stars Hollow's own were to be married there. 

She tried to creep up towards him as quietly as she could, but it was completely impossible with the sound of crunching grass emerging from beneath her shoes.

He didn't turn around at the sound of another being behind him. He figured it was just another visitor interfering on his moment with the sun and decided not to acknowledge said visitor's presence. He resumed his concentration on the sight before him when once again he was interrupted… this time it was a welcomed interruption. He felt two pairs of arms come up from behind and affectionately squeeze him. 

Rory rested her chin atop his shoulder and encircled him snugly at the waist. 

"Hey pookie, what are you doing here?" she happily asked. There was nothing better than seeing him unexpectedly. 

He smirked when he heard yet another trial pet name for him. Rory could be so kooky at times, definitely a trait inherited from her mother. He slowly turned around and draped her shoulders with his arms to box her into him. She snuck her hands underneath his shirt and gently tickled his sides. 

His eyes haven't met hers yet. He made a quick scan of the area behind her . . . they were alone. He finally let himself drown in her eyes.

"Pookie?" His voice was raspy, yet sexy.

She smirked too. "Don't like pookie huh?"

"If I ever catch you calling me pookie in public…"

"Fine. Nixing pookie."

"Pookie is way worse than boo." He made a disgusted face.

Rory smiled. "I knew you liked boo." 

Jess laughed. "I don't like boo either Rory." 

"Awe, my baby-boo." She coerced and kissed him on the nose. "So hey, what are you doing out here?"

"Just… needed some quiet time."

"Is something the matter?" Concern washed over her face. 

"No." He said reassuringly.

"Are you sure? You know you can come to me, whatever time it is." She said seriously.

"Whatever time huh?" 

"Whatever time." She confirmed.

"I'll be sure to remember that." He smirked, with a sly glint in his eyes.

A couple of passionate good morning kisses soon followed.

Rory opened her eyes in the midst of one of them. Jess' eyes were closed, but she could tell that he was enjoying it just as much as she was. She loved hearing the soft moans that she caused him to make. 

Behind him the sun was quickly rising, and it was certainly a must-see. She broke the kiss, leaving him out of breath. She pulled him behind her as she leaned against the wooden railing.

"It's beautiful. I've forgotten how beautiful the sunrise was at this very spot. My mom loved watching it. She would carry me out here, I was half asleep of course and most of the time I'd miss it rise. But when I did catch it, I remembered it being this amazing."

He swept her hair away from her neck and gave it a kiss. He too watched the sun rise. 

She had to ask. She hated feeling intimidated by the simple question. "So, have you decided?"

"On what?"

"On whether or not you're going to go to Sookie's wedding today. You've been skirting the issue for a month now and I think it's only fair that you give me an answer… the wedding is today Jess." 

"That's today?" Jess pretended he didn't remember. Jess sighed. "Rory…" She didn't see the slightly irritated look that now erased the former content one. He had already decided not to go from the moment she first asked him. He told her he'd think about it even though he'd already made his decision. He didn't quite understand why he held off for so long. Normally he would have said no when she initially asked and that would've been the end of it, but he kept telling her that he hadn't made up his mind. 

She looked down at the water. That didn't sound too positive.  

"I would really like it if you came." She said quietly and then turned around to see his reaction. 

He couldn't look at her. 

"I'm not too keen on seeing Jackson walk down the aisle in a skirt." 

"But that's the main event my friend. You wouldn't want to miss out." 

"I think I'll get over it. Besides, from what I've heard, it would definitely be worth missing."

Rory was disappointed to say the least. 

"You'll come to the reception?" She attempted to ask. 

He didn't miss the hopeful look on her face. He honestly didn't want anything to do with the wedding.  

"Rory . . ." Maybe he was exhausted from having not slept the proper amount of hours one should sleep because his voice had a slight warning tone when he had said her name.

"Okay." She said rather abruptly, and it took him by surprise. She was pissed and she certainly didn't want to get into it with him this early in the morning. She started to walk away. "I have to go… help with the setting up and stuff."

"Rory… " It sounded much softer this time. He wasn't a morning person. God why couldn't he just say he'd go? Would it be so awful? He couldn't help being a dick sometimes. "Don't be mad." He urged her.

"I'm not mad, it's just…" She was mad, she wanted to let him know that too, but she chose not to. Instead, she looked down at her watch. "It's almost six and everyone will be here soon so… I should go."

"I'll see you later?" 

"Um yeah. Sure. Later."

He ran his hand through his thick, untamed hair, something he often did when he felt like he screwed up. He watched her walk away. She was walking her                        angry walk. Jess shook his head. He was going to have to go to the goddamn wedding.

**`**~// Independence Inn – Sookie's Wedding - Afternoon \\~**'**

Jess went all out for his girlfriend. He rummaged through his clothes, even Luke's clothes, and he couldn't find one solitary thing fitting enough for him to wear at the wedding. So he actually bought a pair of nice slacks, a crisp blue collared long sleeve shirt, and a tie. He definitely went all out for his girlfriend. Luke would never let him live it down. He could just hear the cracks his uncle would make if and when he saw him. 

He kept his distance before the wedding started and stood next to the big Weeping Willow tree by the lake. He wasn't hiding. Nah, he wasn't hiding at all. 

Lane and Sydney walked the path that led down to the lake.

"Hey, isn't that Jess over there?" Sydney asked, stopping Lane in mid stride. 

"Where?"

"Over there… hiding behind that big tree." She pointed.

"Oh my God it is." Lane giggled. She saw the tie. "Wow, he's all spiffified."

"He looks good."

"Yeah, he does look good. I thought I'd never see the day where Jess wore a tie. Pictures should be taken." 

"Didn't Rory say he wasn't coming?" Sydney inquired.

"I guess he changed his mind." She looped her arm through Sydney's. "Let's go say hello," she said wickedly.

He heard some voices coming from behind him. 'Ah Christ.' He blew out a breath. He saw the two headed his way. 

"Hey there Jess." Lane said as if she caught him.

"Lane." 

She had never seen him this uneasy. He was actually fidgeting.

"You wash up pretty nice Jess." Lane's grin was frightening him. 

"Thanks." He made no attempt to smile back. He remembered his gentlemanly manners though. "You two-" He gestured to them, stumbling a bit with his words, but soon regained his normal composure, "-look nice too." 

"So what are you doing hiding over here?" Sydney half joked.

Caught. "I wasn't hiding." Jess told them, faking complete innocence.

The two girls smiled at him. A pink tint colored his cheeks.

"Rory told us you weren't coming." Lane said.

"Yeah well, I changed my mind." What he wouldn't do to be alone right now. "So is Rory busy doing wedding things? I haven't seen her."

"No, she's showing Tristan around the Inn grounds. He hasn't seen how beautiful it is back here." Lane informed.

Jess could just feel the sting of the jealousy stick nip away at his heart.  "Oh yeah. Didn't know he was coming." He managed to say quite easily.

"What can I say, he's grown on us Star's Hollow folk." Lane said.

"Hey, you wanna come with? We're trying to find them. The wedding is about to start soon." Sydney offered.

"Nah, I think I'll just hang around here." 

A couple minutes later Jess spotted Rory and Tristan standing only a couple feet away from him, definitely within hearing range. 

"So where's the boyfriend?" Tristan asked.

"Oh. He's not coming."

"Working an extra shift at Walmart again?" 

Rory rolled her eyes at him. "No." 

"Working at the diner?"

"No."

"So he's not here with you because . . ." He left it open for her to fill in the blanks.

Tristan saw the troubled look on her face. Jess didn't miss it either and felt something tug at his insides. 

Rory pushed a smile through. "It's just not his thing. Jess hates going to these types of gatherings." She said looking away, securing the hair the wind blew in her face behind her ears.

Tristan scoffed, casually stuffing one of his hands in his pant pockets. "It's not his thing Rory? He should be here-" He paused. "he should be here because you asked him to be here." He couldn't believe the little prick. 'It wasn't his thing.' That was a load of shit. 

God, he really did sound like a dick, Jess berated himself. 

Rory shrugged, still looking away. 

"I don't know what you see in him Rory." Tristan regretted the words before they even left his mouth. It wasn't his place to say and he knew that but what the hell did she see in him anyway. And that's when she looked at him. She didn't even have to utter a word. He saw it in her eyes. Jess must have something that only Rory could see, he thought. 

Rory smiled. Thinking about Jess… what he lacked in some areas he definitely made up in other areas of their relationship. Yeah it occasionally bothered her, but she got over it. It really wasn't that big of a deal… really it wasn't. It was what made Jess _Jess_. That was how he was. And she had to learn to love it too. She would learn to love it… at least accept it.

Jess had started to walk away. This was why people shouldn't eavesdrop. You're liable to hear something you shouldn't. He quietly walked away not wanting to hear what Rory had to say about him. She'd probably be at a loss for words. 

Apparently he wasn't quiet enough. Rory heard him. She did a double-take. She was surprised to see him… and in dress slacks no less. She made a mental note on how good his ass looked in them.  

"Jess?" She called out to him, but he didn't turn around. "Jess!" She said louder, maybe he didn't hear her because he still kept walking. "I'll be right back." She said to Tristan as she sprinted towards Jess. 

"Hey." She was soon instep beside him. "Didn't you hear me?"

He stopped walking. "No, I didn't." He lied.

"So you came." She smiled, taking in the way he didn't conform to the long sleeved collared shirt. He had folded the sleeves up to his elbows like he always did with his other shirts, but it was neatly done this time. And the tie. Oh God was he ever sexy in a tie!

"Yeah, well… " He faked a smile.

"I'm glad you came." See, this was why Jess was so wonderful. He came, despite how he felt about going to these types of things. 

It really wasn't that bad. Dressing up… for Rory of course, and going to the functions she wanted to go to. He wouldn't mind so much anymore if he could see her that happy. 

He thankfully had a close up of her in her dress. She looked quite ravishing one might add. 

"You look nice." For some odd reason he felt a little shy.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Rory ran her hand down the full length of his tie. She was very pleased. He came. He came for her.

Her lips looked as though they were begging to be kissed. He knew his own were. He brought his hand to the side of her cheek, enjoying the sensation that coursed through his body as he touched her soft skin. He delicately stroked her bottom lip with the tip of his finger before fully capturing it with his lips. Lately their kisses had been so unbelievably passionate – they felt the tingles in their lips every time they touched and they were pretty much always breathless. 

He continued to kiss her, alternating between her top and bottom lip. She mirrored his movements until he changed it up by lightly sucking on her bottom lip when she went for air. She was unbelievably hot . . . and bothered. Jess could be so sensual with her in the gentlest of ways, making her want more. Whatever more was . . .  If he only knew how turned on she was at that very moment. He had a knack for stirring up the every sexual sense in her body . . . it was exhilarating. 

"H-I lo-h-ove you." Jess breathed ever-so-softly through the kiss. It came out so effortlessly and it felt so good to let her know.

Rory was stunned.  For a split second, she was frozen in the kiss, and she swore she felt her heart flutter. She pulled away a little, their lips still radiating heat towards the other. "I'm sorry, what was that?" She whispered. Her eyes were dreamy, not fully believing the reality of his words.

He smiled a genuine smile. "You heard me." He whispered back and continued to make love to her mouth. 

Those three little words he had just uttered finally sunk in. She grinned against his lips and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him as tight as she could.

"Mmm- Rory… circulation… cutting off." He struggled to say against her lips.

She couldn't contain her smile. She loosed up a little, not much, just a little. "Thank you." Rory whispered into his mouth. 

Yep, this was why Jess was so wonderful. 

He was a little confused by her response. "Is that your bizarre-o way of… telling me you lo-"

"I love you too Jess."  She said confidently and smushed her lips awkwardly to his, their smile equally big to that of the other. "You know," she started to say, "I think I only love you because you look pretty damn sexy in that tie." She said looking seductively at his tie.

"Huh." He smiled devilishly. "You know… we could get out of here and go someplace… and you can get naked and… I can get naked, except for the tie of course-" He said only half joking. "and-"

"Jess!" She couldn't believe those dirty thoughts left his mouth. She countered his devilish grin. "Let's go." She grabbed on to his wrist, sliding her hand down to his and intertwined their fingers. She tugged on him to start walking with her. 

Jess was shocked and suddenly his pants felt a little tight. He saw a flash of Rory… in all her naked glory. 

"I have to get back to the wedding." Boy did she ever stomp over that dream.

Jess shook his head. "You're an evil, evil woman." His body begged for a nice icy shower. 

Having watched the whole thing unfold, yet hearing only snippets, Tristan assumed all's well for Rory Gilmore.  

**`**~// Luke's Diner – Upstairs \\~**'**

Lorelai burst through Luke's apartment door. 

"Luke!" She frantically looked around. "Luke!"

Luke rushed out of the bathroom in the midst of tying his tie. "What, what's wrong?!" 

"Oh…, oh wow, ha… uh wow." Lorelai's mouth went dry at the sight of him.  
  


Luke began to blush. "Lorelai?"

"Oh right, uh… we have a problem!" She forced herself to concentrate on the matter at hand.

"What, what is it?" He wished she would spit it out already.

"It's the groom… " 

"What about Jackson?"

"He apparently disappeared."

"What?"

"I've looked everywhere Luke, I can't find him anywhere."

"Have you told Sookie?" With that Lorelai looked at him as though he had grown another head. 

"Right uh-"

Knock. Knock. Knock. They both watched the door open to reveal Jackson. 

"Jackson! Oh thank God!" Lorelai completely relieved, ran up to him and hugged him tightly. When she pulled away she began to shake him furiously. "Where have you been!?" She looked down and saw the kilt he was wearing. She had to bite her tongue to refrain from laughing. "You look very . . . pretty."

"Oh shut up Lorelai!" Jackson whined.

"What? You do. Doesn't he look pretty Luke?" Lorelai wanted Luke to join in on the mocking.

Luke was already laughing. "Nice legs. The skirt doesn't cut you funny at all."

"It's not a skirt! It's a kilt." Jackson corrected.

"Hey, they all look the same to me." 

Lorelai realized something. "Oh my God…," she said pointing to Jackson's legs while covering her mouth, "You shaved your legs!" 

Jackson cringed, rubbing his temples. "Oh God," then, "YES, YES! I shaved my legs are you happy now!" Jackson whined loudly.

"You have very shapely calves Jackson." 

"Would you quit staring at my legs?!" He yelled at Lorelai.

"I'm sorry. I just never get to see your legs. I don't see why Sookie won't allow you to wear shorts." 

Jackson glared at her, willing her to stop.

"Okay, okay. What's the problem Jackson? Why aren't you out there waiting for your gorgeous wife-to-be to walk down the aisle?"

Jackson didn't answer.

"Please don't tell me you have cold feet." Lorelai begged.  
  


Jackson didn't answer again.

"Ah Jackson you can't do this to her!"

"I'm not! I just need a minute."

"You don't have a minute. In about five minutes she'll be walking down the aisle only to see that you aren't standing there. She'll be crushed. She'll go in panic mode. You don't want that."

Lorelai desperately looked to Luke for some help. 

"Uh, Lorelai why don't you go back and stall Sookie. Make sure she doesn't suspect anything." He said as he ushered her out of the apartment. He shut the door behind them. "Don't worry I'll handle it." 

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go."

"Thank you." She sighed in relief. She started to walk down the stairs to the diner. "Oh by the way Luke, you look pretty too." 

"Bye Lorelai." He waved her off. He didn't take complements too good.

"Very GQ Luke." She managed to get out before he shut the door.

**`**~// Independence Inn – Sookie's Wedding \\~**'**

Dave loved watching her from afar. Lane had been standing next to Morey who had been playing some jazzy piano tunes for the past twenty minutes. He studied her, the way she gently beat her drumsticks against the piano, the cool way she bobbed her head, all in accordance with Morey's playing.  

She was smiling. 

She had the most contagious smile. Seeing it never failed to put a smile on his own face. 

Lane was a caged beauty, one that begged to be free. She loathed having to live a double life, but there wasn't any other choice. She was very respectful of her parent's wishes, which meant she shouldn't be dating David, so her choice to hide it for now didn't hurt anyone… except her. 

She would be sprightly one minute but yet so reserved the next, particularly around her mother. In her mother's eyes she was an obedient daughter. She wanted to be obedient, so she played that role for her parents. But she wanted to be happy too. And if living a double life was what it took for her to be happy, then so be it. 

He knew it must've hard having to lie to her parents. He could only imagine the stuff she had to go through. But a girl like Lane shouldn't be confined. She was so full of life. The one thing that caught him was her passion for music, such fervor. And he thought he loved music. Ha! She had surpassed him a million times over! For god sakes, the girl was a music historian. He had never met someone so captivated by everything music and he whole-heartedly adored that about her.   

He kept a watchful eye of his surroundings, making sure a certain mother wasn't close by. Over the past couple weeks, he had adapted well to his clandestine relationship with Lane. He had to admit it was a bit fun at times. 

He casually strolled across the green lawn towards the piano. He came up to her from behind and cupped her elbow with one of his hands. He lowered his head to hers.

"Hey. Come walk with me." He said softly into her ear.

On instinct she searched for any sign of her mother. She was nowhere in sight. Lane nodded.

They walked inside the Independence Inn and lingered in a small corner of the lobby. There were many guests mingling around them and they were sure they would be hidden.

"I missed you." Dave told her. She saw the sincerity of those three words in his eyes. Oh how she wanted to just grab him and squeeze him as tight as she could. "I haven't talked to you for four days." He continued.

"Yeah I know… I think my mother's suspicious." She said quietly. Her hand somehow found its way to his arm. She needed to feel him. She needed to feel his arms around her… but this was neither the time nor place.

Dave looked at her thoughtfully. She looked a little worried. "What? How? We've been so careful." He recited the lines that a guy would normally say when his girlfriend said she was pregnant. 'That would definitely be far worse than this', he thought to himself. 

"I'm not one hundred percent positive, but after I hung up with you that one night I snuck that call, I went downstairs to put the cordless back and when I opened my bedroom door, she was standing there. I think she was listening. And what really worried me was that fact that she didn't say anything to me. She didn't even look at me. She just walked back to her bedroom. She didn't even yell at me for being on the phone so late, which is really really odd, 'cause normally she would've punished me and she didn't Dave. I think she knows. What am I gonna do?"

"Maybe she doesn't know. Maybe she finally came to her senses and realized that she can't keep restricting late night phone calls." Dave said, not truly believing in what he said. 

"I highly doubt that." Lane frowned.

"We weren't really talking about anything that you and Rory wouldn't normally talk about over the phone. You could just say you were talking to her if she asks. You could tell her she had something urgent to tell you and it couldn't wait till the next day." Dave was getting pretty good at this.

"But Dave… do you remember what we said before we hung up?"

He did remember. They played that cheesy act where they would go back and forth on who missed who more. 

"Oh." Dave sighed, but then smiled at the memory. "Well, let's not assume anything for now. We could be blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Just wait until she says something about it. And if she doesn't then we assume she was sleep-walking." Dave gave her a comforting smile. 

Lane nodded her head hopeful and waved her finger at him. "Ya know, that doesn't sound so farfetched." She joked. 

They both smiled. 

"Lane!" Mrs. Kim yelled causing everyone to turn heads.

"Mama." Lane suddenly grew afraid.

"Who is this boy?" She asked.

"Oh… uh this is Dave… I was just asking him about the Christian combo he's in. Sookie hired them to play today. . . they're going to play the wedding march mama." She replied nervously, although deep down, she congratulated herself on the bit about Dave being in a Christian combo.

"Oh. Christian combo?" Mrs. Kim seemed mildly interested. 

"Uh yeah, we… I play with two other boys." He looked around nervously for them. "We uh… play Christian music." Dave struggled to say as he tried to play along with Lane's fib. 

"Oh you do." She looked at him skeptically. "Do you have a card?"

Dave gave Lane a confused look. "Uh a card?"

"Yes a card. You do parties I see."

"Yes, we do-", Dave started to say.

"You should have a card then. I'd like a card. I'd like to hire you for my niece's wedding."

"Oh… okay." Dave shared a look with Lane. "I'll be sure to get you that card."

"Thank you. Let's go Lane, before all the good seats are taken." Lane's mom started to walk off and Lane quickly followed, but not before weakly waving bye to Dave.

**A/N:** Review . . . for me . . . please . . . I'd love it if you would!


	23. Shake It Like A Polaroid Picture

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah 

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N: **I think I should take time out to thank all you lovely, lovely, people who reviewed the last two chapters. ~***GiveMeYourLove*****~ Thanks for giving me _your love ;p ~*_****anonymousthinker**** &**** tigress33*~ My caring, faithful reviewers, I love hearing from you guys –**anonymousthinker** (thanks for the cheer ;p) ~*****miss.pebbles, ****Ponderer, **Luisa L**, **Leora**, ****Allyson, ****faith-jasmine, ****charlie, **True Blue Healer**, **Special K, Brooke, julia, salamander2, Kate e, Cheri, Linn, Jade-Tessier **(almost didn't**** recognize you ;p**) Kati,  buttercupbabe, Lara, Krystle Nicole, Kate, peabrain, Stephanie, Gizzella, markie, bumble bee, kudirat Mustapha, EvilEmmy1, Rache, LandonLover, JCtigerwolf4e, Kat, AEROSnowDuckie, someone, Mrs. Mariano, amiboshi no miko2, lilacmoon, Amanda, maya, blurred, stargazer, gilmorelvr, anonomous, JessIsAGod, magic em, Kate_05, Jess, alliegirl, PelicanGoddess, gabby, theatarisrule, santafe, Gabi, NYChica **&** Sara***~ Thanks for taking the time out to review, it means a lot to me. ~***MahiaLily******, Professional Reader &**** YaYa*~ I love reading reviews like yours. You're too kind. : )  ~***Angel Monroe***~ Another faithful reviewer, sorry for the bad mental picture ;p ~***smile1***~ Yay!  A newbie to my fic. I'm glad you liked the Lane/Dave action in the last chapter, I liked writing it =) ~***layla***~ Thanks for not abandoning this story, hang in there! ~*****Genevieve10 &** nightash*~ **More newcomers! I'm ecstatic… your reviews got me writing Lorelai and Luke again! ~*****emjai*~ You make _my world complete when __you review ;p! ~***silver blood** & _****Naveed2*~ You guys are faithful reviewers too, I apologize for my slow updates, thanks for hanging around though ;p ~*****kimlockt*~ I'm glad you liked that line, I was hoping someone would ;p**

****~// ****Hartford****: Elizabeth Park – Nature Trails \\~****

"Tell me again why we're doing this." Rory griped as she trudged down the trail careful not to stumble over a twig like she did a couple minutes before. She turned her elbow to see how her scratch was doing. 

"_You_ said that you felt that all we did was make-out ninety percent of the time we were together… _you said you were afraid that that was all our relationship was about and you wanted to prove otherwise," Jess recited. "_You_ thought it would be a good idea to try some stupid out-doorsey type shit such as this. So… here we are." _

"Jess…," Rory sighed, "_You_ thought it was a good idea too." 

"I was simply playing the part of the good boyfriend and agreed with your insane idea. I'm perfectly content with making-out with you ninety percent of the time. Personally, I wouldn't mind if we bumped it up to a hundred percent." Jess joked. 

Rory glowered at him and smacked him on the chest. 

"Traveling down nature trails isn't one of the top ten things on my to-do list with Rory." Jess noticed that Rory was staring at her arm. "Do you want me to get the first aid kit out?"  

"Yes please." 

He shook his head and smiled at her. "You're such a baby." Jess stopped at nearby tree and took a seat. Rory followed suit. 

"I'm wounded here Jess, no name calling allowed." Rory pouted.

"_You are_." He said playfully. "It's just a tiny, miniscule scratch. It's not even considered a scratch. It didn't even break the skin." He opened the back pack and pulled out the first aid kit.

"Hey you guys alright back there!" Lane yelled from a couple yards away.

"We're fine, Rory's got a _scratch!" Jess yelled back and at the same time examined her arm. "I just can't _find_ it." He says to Rory, smiling._

She rolled her eyes at him. "There's that humor again." 

He opened an alcohol prep pad and resumed to pretend to look for the scratch. 

"Jess…"

"Hmm…" His eyes squinted, looking closely for any sign of the said scratch. "Ah-ha there it is… waait, no… that's just your _hair_." He looked up at her with his big brown puppy eyes.

Rory snatched the alcohol pad from him. 

"I'll do it thank you very much." She glared.

Jess sat back and watched her wipe the spot where her supposed scratch was. He laughed as she winced from the stinging alcohol. 

"Quit laughing at me."

Jess mocked holding in his laughter. He held her wrist, bringing it towards him, gently turning it over to examine the stinging skin. He locked his eyes with hers for a moment before softly blowing on it. 

Rory rolled her eyes at him. "I never knew you to be so romantically cheesy." 

"Ah come on Rory, just admit it . . . you _want me." He teased in a husky voice._

It was true. She did want him and she wanted him right then and there. She didn't care if she was reenacting some tacky love scene, but she didn't want to ignore the tingles she felt when he looked her dead in the eyes and blew his cool air against her skin. Never mind the fact that it was meant for the scratch, but she knew he had ulterior motives.

"Yes Jess, I _want_ you and I _want_ you right now. Take me please. Rip my clothes off and make sweet passionate love to me right here-" she paused and looked around the ground, "right here on this very tree stump." She scoffed. _What would happen if she told him she meant it, every single word of it? _

"Kiss me."

She looked up from the tree stump. "I thought we agreed… no kind of lip action." She was weakening by the minute.

"Kiss me Rory." He moved closer to her.

Her eyes darkened with lust. "I want to." She said in a whisper, almost afraid to say those words.

"Then kiss me." His face just inches away from hers. 

"We can't Jess." His beautiful brown eyes were tempting her, making her heart beat a mile a minute. 

"For Christ's sake kiss me... please?" His breath was hot against her lips, and suddenly her lips were moistened unconsciously when she sucked in her bottom lip.

"Well…," she faltered, "… since you said _please." She said quietly and somewhat hesitant to fulfill his request… hesitant only because of their agreement._

The next thing she knew she caved, their deal long forgotten.

He guided her so that she was leaning against the tree. They started off slowly, both trying desperately to hold on to any ounce of self control they had left, but as their hands forged ahead, feeling on clothed and unclothed skin, the meaning of self control was completely lost upon the two. So caught up in the other, neither cared where they were or who was around. 

****~// A Couple Yards Ahead of Rory and Jess \\~****

"I hope she's alright." Lane told Dave.

"I'm sure she's fine."

"And where the hell did Tristan and Sydney disappear to?"

"They probably took the other trail back."

"You don't think it was a bad idea pairing them together like that."

"Nah… they looked like they were enjoying themselves."

"I hope so. Do you think we should go back and check on Rory and Jess?"

"I think we should keep going. As much as I love spending time with you, I'm not much of a nature person. I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible." At the finish of his sentence, he swatted at a mosquito having its feast on the back of his neck. "I _need to get out of here Lane." He begged, seriously._

"Aww Davey," she smiled at his helplessness. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Well I thought I could handle it. I'd do anything to spend some time with you." 

"You're such a sweety."

He flashed his boyish debonair smile making her melt right before her very eyes.

Lane grabbed a hold of his arm giving an affectionate kiss on his shoulder. "Let's go."

****~// Somewhere Else in Elizabeth Park \\~****

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

At the sound of Tristan's, Rory immediately detached her lips and hands from Jess. She noted the look of irritation on Jess' face.

"You really know how to kill a moment don't you." Jess told Tristan.

"Hey, we were just walking along when we saw what looked like two people in a very heated situation."

"And instead of doing the proper thing and keep on walking, you chose to watch." Jess snapped.

"You make me sound like a pervert."

"Well if the shoe fits…"

"I just thought it would be funny to see the look on Rory's face when she'd been _caught in the act_." Tristan turned to look at Rory and smirked. "And I must say… that look will be one that will be etched into my mind forever… Priceless Mary. Thank you."

Jess silently winced at the sound of Tristan's pet name for her.

Rory narrowed her eyes warningly at him. "Tristan-" 

"It was a joke Rory. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to interrupt." He half-apologized.

Rory looked at Sydney.

"He couldn't be stopped, believe me I tried." Sydney smiled apologetically.

"Well, it'll be dark soon, so it's just as well." Rory stood up and dusted off the seat of her pants. She saw the look of disappointment and sheer annoyance on Jess' face. He looked like a frustrated puppy. She held out her hand for him and he took it, only half using it to hoist himself up. With her other hand, she gently cupped the side of his face, offering him a contrite pout to let him know that she too was feeling frustrated. They shared a simple chaste kiss. 

Tristan and Sydney had already started down the trail.

"Ready to go?" 

He nodded once. "Okay." 

****~// A Couple Yards Ahead of Rory and Jess \\~****

"So tell me… how long have you had a thing for Rory?" Sydney asked out of the blue.

Tristan immediately jerked out of his reverie. He casually laughed, not letting her words show true. "I don't have a thing for Rory…" 

Sydney smirked.

He saw that she didn't believe him and quickly looked away. "…anymore." He continued.

Sydney nodded but still didn't completely believe him.

"I don't." He said reassuringly. 

"Okay." 

Tristan picked a couple leaves from a passing tree and started absentmindedly tore it to pieces, letting it fall to the ground. "I used to have this thing for her, but she chose him…" He smiled at her. "In a way I'm glad she did choose him because if she hadn't then I would've never been able to get to know _you_… like I am now."

"You said she _chose_ him… so I'm assuming she knew that you had this thing for her?"

He shook his head and smiled a small smile. "Nah… she never knew." He looked at Sydney pointedly. "And she **never** will. She's happy with Jess. Everyone can see it. They have this certain connection that's unique to only the two of them. And… I've accepted that and moved on." He stopped her from walking down any further and intertwined her hand with his. "So please… could we just concentrate on us? I'd really like for there to be an _us." He told her honestly._

"I'd like that too." 

"And if you think that I'm still waiting for that day to be with her, I'm not. So don't let that get in the way of you letting there be an _us_." 

She nodded.

"I like you Syd… and I'd like to keep seeing you."

She nodded again, grinning sweetly at him. He didn't have to explain himself to her. She liked him. And the fact that once upon a time he liked Rory didn't really bother her. And for him to profess how much he wanted there to be 'an us' made him all-the-more worthwhile. 

****~// Back in Zack's Mom's Stationwagon \\~****

"You never told me how you got Zack to let us borrow his mom's Stationwagon."

"It was easy really. Just a simple mentioning of Rory's mom coming to watch us practice… and Zack will do just about anything I ask." 

"And Lorelai agreed to this?"

"Simple pleasures really… She made me promise that when we're famous we would let her accompany us to those illustrious Hollywood celebrity parties."

There was a comfortable momentary silence between the two as they let the sound of the crickets and other night crawlers fill the car. Dave covered the steering wheel with his arm and laid his cheek against it facing Lane and peacefully watched her. His free hand reached out towards her thigh where her hand rested and folded her petite hand with his. 

She felt a little uncomfortable by his staring. She pushed her glasses up before she looked back at him. "What?" She smiled bashfully. She really wasn't the bashful type, but when Dave openly gazed at her she always felt that she had a booger hanging from her nose or something equally embarrassing.

"Nothing. I just… like looking at you." He firmly squeezed her hand. 

She blushed slightly. "Don't stare too long, you might realize that I'm really not all that cute."

He laughed. "You're really beautiful Lane." He told her sincerely. "I could stare at you all day and you'd get more beautiful-er by the hour." He scoffed at himself. "That's not even a word is it?"

"It was a creative effort." She nodded and smiled.

"Come here." He said quietly. He helped her slide across the vinyl seat and wrapped his arm around her waist. He stared into her dark brown eyes and slowly leaned in. 

Her heart beat quickened as the feel of his soft lips brushed deliciously against hers. His right hand moved to the back of her neck, urging her closer. Both welcomed the intensity of the kiss. His fingers mingled with the soft tendrils of her hair. In her mind, she wanted to touch him, to feel him, to make sure he was real. 

She held on to his right forearm, as if using it to hold herself up. 

They both pulled away at the right moment and smiled at the other. His hand still played with her hair and her hand still held his forearm. He ended their perfect first heated kiss with an innocent and pure one.  

They heard some rustling and voices nearing the car and released their hold on the other.

Sydney was the first to open the door to the back seats. 

"-I hope it's not illegal to pick these Tulips." She said sitting down. "Hey guys."

"Hey." Lane and Dave greeted back in unison.

"Tristan opened the opposite door to the back seats and sat next to Sydney. "I don't think they'll miss one tulip Syd." Tristan replied. 

He chose to ignore the huge wooden sign that read 'PLEASE DO NOT PICK FLOWERS' and plucked a pink tulip and gave it to Sydney.

"We weren't interrupting were we?" Sydney asked. She and Tristan seem to be doing that a lot today. 

"No… we were just talking." Lane answered. "Did you guys run into Rory and Jess?"

"Yeah, but we left them at that bridge overlooking the pond. They're trying their hand at rock skipping."

****~// Somewhere in Elizabeth Park \\~****

"Ha! Six skips. Beat that." Rory dared.

"Easily." Jess smirked. Rory didn't know that he was a rock skipping expert. He tossed his rock skillfully, bouncing about 10 times off the water below.

"And you made it look so easy. What other skills do you have you haven't told me about?"

"You'll find out when the time is right."

"Jess?"

"Hmm." Jess was already in the process of trying to beat his first skip.

"About this whole sex issue…"

The rock skipped a mere three times. 

He turned around, eager to hear what she had to say about the subject. 

"I know _you're_ ready…" She looked deep into his eyes, seeing that was she said was true, "… and I know _I'm_ ready…"

He smiled. "I kinda figured that from that kiss back there."

"Exactly. If Tristan and Sydney didn't interrupt when they did, Jess… I would have let you…," she looked away. "…right there," she looked back into his eyes, "…right there on that bumpy tree stump." She laughed lightly.

"I'm flattered." _What a stupid thing to say._ He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips. 

"Jess-" She pinched him at his side.

"I'm sorry, that came out all wrong." He leaned against the stone wall of the bridge. He held her at her hips and drew her closer to him. "You know that I want you… _all the time_… and I would've gladly taken you on that bumpy tree stump if you wanted me too." He kissed the tip of her nose. "But you and I both know that that wouldn't have been right." It wouldn't have been right for_ her._ He didn't have any qualms about having sex with Rory in the park.

She smiled in agreement. "So how do you propose we resolve the 'all we do is make-out' issue?" Her fingers played with his unruly thick hair.

"Rory… you have to know that we are more than that..." 

She nodded.

"This constant making-out thing… it's because this is a new and exciting step up in our relationship- the added perks of us becoming more than just friends. We will always be the way we were before we became… what we are now. It's just been lessened for the time being because… well… because we can't get enough of each other. " He smiled wickedly.

She grinned. "You always say the right things." She kissed him.

"I've been known to do that from time to time."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close. "I love you." She said quietly into his ear. 

He affectionately kissed the hair that covered her ear. 

"We should be getting back." She told him and took his hand and led him in the direction of the car. 

They reached the station wagon and noticed that they were the last ones to arrive. 

"Hey guys." Rory greeted as she quickly approached the four in the car. "Have you been waiting long?" She furrowed her brows, ready to apologize if they said yes.

"No." Sydney answered for the four.

The back trunk door was open and ready for Jess and Rory to hop in.

"It looks like it's our turn in the trunk Rory."

He helped her in and helped himself in before closing the door. Rory leaned up against the pillows that adorned the side window, clasping Jess' hand pulling him to sit next to her. 

"Everybody ready to go?" Dave asked. Everyone agreed and he started the car, Radiohead blaring through the speakers.

****~// Gilmore Home – A Week Later - Saturday Night \\~****

Both mother and daughter were seated in their respectable spots on the couch for another night of movie night. Tonight's _English sub-titled feature: Amélie. _

**_Amélie_**_: I am nobody's little weasel._

"So… no Jess tonight?" Lorelai asked.

"He's working, he'll probably stop by later on tonight."

Lorelai nodded and they both continued to watch the movie.

**_Raymond Dufayel_**_: So, my little Amélie, you don't have bones of glass. You can take life's knocks. If you let this chance pass, eventually, your heart will become as dry and brittle as my skeleton. So, go to him, dammit!_

"Rory…"

"Yeah…," Rory answered but her eyes were still on the television screen, reading the subtitles.

"I am nobody's little weasel." Lorelai pouted.

Rory took the remote and pushed pause and turned her full attention to her mother.

"Mom… you know that you have to make the first move. It doesn't look like Luke will anytime soon. He's more stubborn and oblivious than you are. You need to show him how you feel."

"I have. You've seen me in action. I'm not _subtle when I flirt with him."_

"But you've always flirted with him. He's used to that. Maybe you should _tell_ him how you feel."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Come on mom."

"I'm afraid of rejection." She mocked. 

Rory laughed. "You are not. You _know Luke won't reject you. He's too smitten by you. Everybody knows it and everybody's waiting for you guys to suck up whatever it is keeping you guys from being together. 'If you let this chance pass, eventually, your heart will become dry and brittle. So, go to him, dammit!'" Rory indirectly quoted Mister Dufayel. _

Lorelai grew confident at her words. "Alright. I'm gonna do it!" She stood up psyching her self up. 

"Go!" Rory urged.

After a moment of contemplation, Lorelai plopped herself back down on the couch. "Maybe tomorrow." She grabbed the remote and pushed play.

Rory rolled her eyes at her crazy mother and continued to watch the movie.

****~// Gilmore Home – A Week Later – Late-Afternoon \\~****

Lorelai barged into Rory's bedroom without knocking. 

"Here." Lorelai handed her daughter their Polaroid camera. "Take a picture of me."

Rory laughed at her mother's Zorro getup. She furrowed her brows at her.

"Mom… I think you've watched _Amélie one too many times. Just because we can rent a movie for seven days now doesn't necessarily mean that you should watch it more than two times."_

"Come on. Take it, while I'm still amped."

Rory smiled as she realized what her mother planned to do. "Mom are you-"

"No time for questions… I'm starting to lose my nerve again. Will you hurry up and take the picture already?" Lorelai was growing antsy by the minute. 

"Okay, okay." Rory dog-eared her latest read and set it on her night stand. She took the camera from her mother and took a picture and handed it to her mother.

Lorelai took the picture and fanned it in the air waiting for it to develop. 

"Haha… _Perfect." She smiled, pleased with how the picture turned out. She grabbed a white marker from Rory's desk and scribbled something on it. "Here. Give this to Jess to give to Luke."_

**A/N: **I'm finally trying to wind this sucker down… _trying_ being the operative word here. I've only got an idea for the next chapter, but after that I'm not entirely sure how I want to end this baby. I really want to end this story. It needs to be ended. I'm already in the works of writing a sequel… the gang goes to _college_… there's a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, and a lot of rock & roll… just kidding… maybe not a lot of drugs… probably no drugs… but I digress… If anyone has ideas on how I can end this little ol' project, feel free to e-mail me with some ideas. Shank ya and have a niice day… after you stop to review of course ;p Oh yea… next chapter… hehe… the long awaited scene between Rory and Jess (you know what I'm insinuating, many of you asked for it and yes… I've finally written it… _stay tuned_… _if you dare_… 


	24. Coupon Day

**`*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized! 

**A/N:** Alright alright. My last author's note was somewhat of a lie. I'm a big fat liar! _The scene isn't in this chapter and it probably won't be in the next either. *ducks quickly, missing a tomato by a hair* Sowie! It's written though, I swear it is, but I couldn't include it in this chapter. Just didn't fit. Oh and sorry for the delay. I was a little discouraged by a review. Normally I can take a good smack in the face, but this certain one just stung. I'm better now, a little wounded, but better now. It's all part of the process I guess. _

Hope you enjoy! Again, as always, thanks for the reviews. They do keep me going... oh and **Oregano**… not creepy in the least! And it would only be fair, I've already made out with _all of your fics ;p I'm an Oregano-fic whore and I don't care who knows it!_

A preview of the sequel to These Are Days is up too… I know… I'm weird… :D 

The closer Rory came to Luke's Diner she saw that there were a number of people standing along the sides of the building, forming two distinct lines, restless with semi-displeased looks on their faces, waiting for their chance in the diner. She made her way through the line to the inside, mumbling to everyone that scowled at her that she wasn't there to eat. She promised! These people looked dead set in defending their place in line and they were ready to take anyone out, even Rory. 

It was unusually full today, probably exceeding the building's capacity. It had even gotten to the point were people shared seats, half a cheek each on one chair. She wouldn't be surprised if the fire marshal paid a visit. Oh but wait, he has. He was standing at the counter in-between two occupied stools, eating breakfast. And the kicker, there wasn't one employee in sight. Rory needed some explaining. She went to the first familiar face, one that she hadn't seen for a couple of weeks.

"Hey Dean." Thankfully, there was no weirdness speak of. "What's going on in here?" 

Before he could answer, everyone's attention focused on the two men that had mysteriously appeared behind the counter. A hush descended throughout the crowd.

"Taylor!" Luke yelled at the top of his lungs. His temper could no longer be suppressed and he didn't care that all eyes were on him. "I did not agree to this!"

"Now Luke, there is no need to raise your voice. These people are here in celebration. To celebrate the anniversary of your diner." Taylor replied in his rather annoyingly calm voice. 

"I did not **OK** this Taylor." 

"Well Luke, your permission wasn't needed. This was a unanimous town decision to-" 

"This is **my** establishment. Not **yours**. Not **theirs. But ****mine," Luke stated forcefully, his hand thrusting perfectly through the air driving every point across.**

"I'm sorry, but we're not leaving." Taylor grew confident that the people around him would back him up if need be.

"I'm gonna punch you Taylor!"

Taylor slowly backed away from Luke and towards the comfort and hopefully safety of the crowd. "Now now Luke. There is no need for violence. Besides, there's all off us and only one of you." Taylor pointed out.

"You know what? **Fine. You want to celebrate? ****Go ahead. But the coupons you had made without ****my permission will not be honored." He turned away from Taylor and spoke to the nosey crowd. "You people can eat and celebrate to your heart's content, just **no coupons**."**

Suddenly the silence of the customers turned into an uproar. These people came to the diner to celebrate Luke's anniversary and for all his years of serving the best diner food, well the best food period in all of Stars Hollow, aside from Sookie's of course. But more importantly, they wanted to use the damn coupons. Some had coupons for free pancakes; others had coupons for free omelets, free burgers, free pie… the list went on.

Luke glared at Taylor, glared at him like never before. It actually made Taylor shiver with fear, but he held his position as usual. It was Luke against the town. And there was no way Luke could turn down the _entire town. And they all seemed to be there today._

"This is not over Taylor!" Luke yelled in frustration and stormed into the back kitchen.

"Alright people, show's over. Back to your meals…", then he continued in a hush tone, "coupons _will_ be honored. Enjoy!" Taylor announced happily. 

"Wow. How did I not know about this?" Rory asked Dean.

"Well this celebration had been in the works for weeks now. Many a town meetings took place in the wee hours of the morning." He said a matter-of-factly.

Rory's mouth dropped in disappointment. "Say it isn't so."

"It is so."

"But why weren't my mom and I in on it. We would have decorated better than this." Rory said thoughtfully, not liking the lame decorations strewn haphazardly throughout the diner. "I can't believe all of you have conspired without us."

"They figured you guys would spoil it somehow… tell Luke or Jess."

Rory mocked being offended. "I wouldn't have said anything."

"Yeah… right Rory."

"What? I wouldn't have. I can keep a secret."

Jess came out from the back kitchen, hands and arms balancing plates with various hot food items on them. He skillfully deposited the meals to its rightful customers and started back towards the kitchen to do it all over again. But he stopped abruptly when he heard the voice of his girlfriend behind him. Yes, it was her… and she was talking to the bean pole. He felt the need to make his presence known and his relationship with Rory as her boyfriend acknowledged. It was only fair.

"Hey." He greeted, not caring that he interrupted whatever they were talking about. Rory was in the middle of saying something to Dean when he kissed her on her moving lips.

"Mm, hey you." Rory blushed. It was weird kissing her boyfriend in front of her ex-boyfriend.

She was a little fazed by his silly little act of branding her as his, but it was kind of endearing to see that coming from Jess. 

Dean felt himself become invisible and so he slipped away from the two unnoticed. 

"It's crazy in here." Rory said, looking at all the people in the diner. Some were hovering rudely over others that were eating, rushing them to eat faster.

"Tell me about it. Taylor's gonna pay for this." 

"I'm free this morning. I can help out if you want." Rory offered.

His face lit up instantly. "I'd be forever in debt to you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Rory reached into Jess' back pocket and split his order pad in two, tucking one piece back into his butt pocket, giving him a sly flirtatious pat that only they were aware of and stole the pencil that rested on his ear.

Jess raised his eyebrows in response to her actions, clearly enjoying being woman-handled and kissed her again. They both took off in separate directions ready to take on those ravenous creatures that had invaded the diner.

**`**~// Luke's Diner – Night \\~**`**

The doors were locked and the closed sign now replaced the open sign. Luke's diner had run out of food. There were no more donuts, no more hamburgers, not even any pickles. No more nothing. The town had eaten Luke's diner empty. 

Jess had finished wiping down the counter and had hopped onto it, laying face down, his arms dangling off the counter. He didn't care that he was in violation of sanitation codes. Fuck the sanitation codes. He was exhausted and there was no way his body would take him upstairs. Rory sat at the table that was closest to him, her head resting on her arms, half asleep, half dead. 

After Luke had locked the doors and turned the sign around he disappeared upstairs. He was like a zombie. He couldn't believe that these people had eaten him dry. Thankfully, with luck on his side, tomorrow was the scheduled day of new shipments. He would make damn sure that Taylor Doosie picked up the bill. If he wasn't in the right state of mind tomorrow morning, he just might close the diner for the day… _might._

"Jess?" Rory mumbled into the table, her own voice echoed loudly into her ears. 

"Yeah?"

"I'm dead aren't I?" 

"Yep."

"Good."

A long silence later…

"Jess?"

"Hmm."

"I can't move."

"You're not supposed to move. You're dead… and you shouldn't be talking either."

Another long silence…

"Jess."

"Huh?"

"I can't feel my legs."

Jess smiled to himself. "Still talking huh?"

**`**~// Luke's Diner - Late Night \\~**`**

Knock-Knock. Tap-Tap-Tap.

Rory was the first to wake up to those disturbing noises. Her heavy eye-lids opened. Raising her head, she felt the annoying pain of a crick in her neck.

"Ow-haow. Crap." She tried to ease the pain by messaging her fingers into her neck. 

She turned awkwardly towards the counter where she last remembered Jess to be. He was still there, in the same position. _Poor baby_. 

Tap-Tap.

Reflexively, she turned her head in the direction of the door. _Ouch! Poor me!_

She stood up and slowly hobbled in the direction of the door and peeked through the blinds. 

"Mommy?" Rory whined.

She unlocked the door and let her in and immediately fell into her arms.

"Ah, honey, are you okay? I heard about what happened in here… I can't believe these idiots did this without telling us."

"Mmm." Rory could no longer form words.

"Yuck." Lorelai looked around at the decorations. "These decorations suck."

"Mmm."

"Man… is it true that there were coupons?"

Rory nodded into Lorelai's shoulder.

"Damn. I would have loved to have coupons. Why weren't we given any coupons?"

"Mmmm."

"Ah babe. Lets get you home." 

Lorelai squatted down a little and urged Rory to get on her back. 

"Mmm, wait…" Rory struggled, she remembered... "Jess." She couldn't let him stay on that uncomfortable counter and get the same torturous cricks that she had.

"Uh… what do you want _me_ to do Rory?" Lorelai whimpered, not wanting to carry her boyfriend upstairs.

"You have to take him upstairs."

Lorelai frowned. "Hun, I'm not _that strong." _

"No… just wake him up and help him upstairs… please." She urged, nudging her to go to Jess. Rory plopped herself in the nearest chair to wait.

"Fine…" She sauntered over to the counter. "Jess. Yoohoo…" Lorelai poked his shoulder. "Wake up Jess… I'm your angel, savior of pestering cricks. If you don't want them, then you better get your pretty lil' ass up." She thought for a moment at what she had just said. "Ew I didn't mean that. You don't have a pretty ass- I mean not that I look at your ass or anything- You know what? I'll just stop right now."

She could hear Rory giggle unattractively. It was a natural reaction. She had no control over laughter. There was no strength involved.

Lorelai carefully pulled Jess off the counter and threw one of his arms around her shoulders.

"Alright now… Jess… you have to move with me… c'mon now, you can do it… left, right…"

Jess finally a little more alert and awake now, made Lorelai's job easier. Thank God, because Lorelai didn't know how she would manage to get him up the stairs. 

"You think my lil' ass is pretty Ms. Gilmore?" Jess couldn't resist asking. It was too easy. 

**`**~// Luke's Diner – The next morning \\~**`**

Luke woke up sane and refreshed that fine morning. He caved. The diner was open for business.

The crick in Rory's neck had disappeared. An Advil and a good night's sleep seemed to be the perfect cure-all. With the diner commotion yesterday, she had forgotten why she went there in the first place. 

"Here." Rory placed her mother's Polaroid picture on the counter and pushed it towards Jess.

"What's this?"

"I need you to give it to Luke."

Jess concentrated on the picture. 

"Who is this?"

"Take a closer look."

"It's a picture of your mom dressed as… Zorro?" He looked to her for confirmation.

"Why yes it is." Rory replied as if it was a normal thing to have a picture of her mom dressed in a Zorro getup. "But you don't know that. Understood?"

"Should I be stupid enough to ask why?"

"I don't know. Should you?"

"Why?"

"You ever seen Amélie?"

"Can't say I have."

"Then come over tonight and discover for yourself." She smiled flirtatiously. They both knew what went hand and hand with a movie date. 

Jess agreed. No questions asked.

"You want me to get you something to eat?"

"Uh yeah, but something to go, I'm meeting up with Lane and the band. They need an outsider's opinion. The last time they sat down to discuss band names, Zack suggested 'Follow Me to the End of the Desert'."

"Long."

"It's of epic proportion."

He leaned in closer to Rory, taking hold of her hand then drew light feathery doodles on it with his finger, "… so I'll see you tonight."

Both watched his tiny show of affection. Her eyes lit, her love for this boy very apparent, "… tonight." Tonight would be one of those _DVD nights._

After Rory left the diner, Jess stared back at the picture. He still couldn't come up with a logical reason as to why Rory's mom was dressed in the Zorro getup. The words 'Gazebo. Tomorrow. 4:00P.M.' in white were written across the picture. 

"Hey Luke." Jess called as he walked into the storage room where his uncle was restocking- a task that Jess was supposed to be doing.

"I thought I told you to take these out of the box and put them onto the shelves. Not open the boxes and leave them to magically place themselves onto the shelves."

Jess mocked disappointment. "Uncle Luke… I can't believe you said that. Why don't you just tell me that Santa Claus doesn't exist? Geeze." Jess taunted.

Luke glared at him. What he wouldn't give to just smack the boy upside the head. What the hell…

*SMACK*

"Hey!"

"Quit being a smart ass and help me empty these boxes before the dinner rush starts."

"Ya know, I had something I was supposed to give to you, but now… I don't think you deserve it." Jess said, holding up the picture.

"What?"

"You see, I was told to give you this, but since you want to be mean to me and ruin my childhood beliefs in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny…"

Luke stood up from his crouched position on the floor. 

"Gimmie that." He grabbed the picture from out of Jess's fingertips. "Who is this?"

Jess shrugged.

He stared at the picture. It was a woman wearing a black hat and what appears to be a matching black Zorro mask around her eyes. Luke looked closer. Those eyes. He knew those eyes. He has looked into those eyes for the last ten years. _Wow that's a long time…_he muses to himself.

"Is this Lorelai?"

  
  


"Ding ding ding. Give this man a bone."

"Why is she wearing a Zorro mask?"

Jess shrugged again. He didn't have the faintest idea. He couldn't even come up with something creative. He must be losing his touch.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

Jess held his hands up in defense. "Hey I had nothing to do with this. I'm just the messenger, and you know what they say… 'Don't shoot the messenger'." He said lamely. 

"Why did she want me to have this?"

"Beats me but… I think you should play along."

"Play along?" 

"It's just a suggestion. Who knows? Maybe she has something to tell you."

"Whatever." Luke's hopes lift up a bit at the thought, skillfully hidden from Jess of course.

"So are you gonna show or what?" But before Luke could answer for himself, Jess continued. "Who am I kidding, of course you're gonna show. You'll be eagerly waiting with sweaty palms and flowers," He teased.

Luke smacked him upside the head for the second time that day, lovingly of course. "Shut up and get to work."

"Would you stop that? Child Protection Services are going to be receiving a phone call from me if you don't!" Jess yelled after him as Luke walked out of the storage room. 

"The hotline number's on my speed dial." Luke countered back. He stared down at the Polaroid of Lorelai. He couldn't wait to find out what this was all about.

**`**~// Gilmore Home – Night \\~**`**

"Mmm. Pizza good." Lorelai managed to mumble with a mouth stuffed with pizza.

"Yes. Very good." Rory replied.

"The nerve of them right?" Lorelai continued the rant she was on before she praised the pizza.

"I know. Stupid towns' people. We can keep a secret!" 

"We sure can!"

The two giggled. 

"It's your fault you know." Lorelai accused.

  
  


"What? How did this turn into being my fault?"

"They knew you'd be the one to slip and tell Jess."

"What?!"

"Yep. Remember that time…"

"What time?" Rory goaded. She knew there was no time.

"That time when you slipped and told little Natalie Mae that she was adopted."

Rory's mouth dropped and she quickly covered it with her hand. _Well,_ _okay, so _there was that time.__

"In my defense, I was six. I didn't know any better."

"But you're Rory… smart, intelligent, niice Rory. You're supposed to know better." Lorelai teased.

"I can still hear Mommy Mae crying her eyes out and looking at me like she wanted to poke my eyes out and rip my limbs off. Why are you making me relive that? I was doing so well at forgetting that particular nightmare of my childhood."

"One word. Coupons."

"I'm sorry." Rory said in a playful sorrowful voice. 

Lorelai sighed dramatically. "Eh, well. Maybe next time." Then there was that gleam in her mother's eye.

"What was that 'Maybe next time'?" Rory asked suspiciously.

"We can make our own coupons. You know, print them up and make them look all professional. You can do just about anything with a computer these days."

Rory shook her head at her mother.

"We can make free coffee ones… mmm and free _Danish_ ones…" Lorelai holds on to Rory's arm, seemingly unable to contain herself. "Can you image it Rory? We can use the Danish coupons when it's not even Danish day. Luke will have to bake 'em fresh just for us." Her eyes grew bigger and bigger at the thought. "What do you want for free Rory?"

Rory giggled. "As much as I love the idea, I don't think Luke will appreciate this coming from you."

Lorelai waved her off. "Ah, he loves me."

Rory smiled, picking at her pizza crust. _That he does. "So… I gave Jess the picture."_

"You did?" Lorelai feigned indifference. 

"Yep…" Her mother was silent. "You're still going through with it aren't you?"

"Of course."

"Okay, just making sure." Rory looked at her mom. She looked like she was having second thoughts. "Don't chicken out."

"I'm not!"

"Okay."

"Okay."

**`**~// The Next Day - Luke's Diner - Afternoon \\~**`**

Luke looked restless and excited and he only got that way when Lorelai was involved.

Jess watched his uncle from behind the counter. His arms folded, contented with the scene before him. The diner was pretty empty. One lone customer seated in the far corner by the window reading his newspaper. Luke was standing beside him with the coffee, filling his cup every time he took a sip out of it. The man with the paper didn't seem to mind at all. Luke looked at his watch and then outside the window in the direction of the Gazebo. Jess had been watching him do that for thirty minutes. Thirty fucking entertaining minutes. 

Jess shook his head. What he wouldn't do for a video camera right about now. Luke would enjoy watching himself look like a complete lovesick idiot. Hell Lorelai and Rory would love to witness this. 

"Hey Luke. It's almost four o'clock, shouldn't you freshen up or somethin'?"

Luke turned to Jess. His face was blank and Jess started to wonder about him. 

"Are you alright?"

"What- huh? Yeah I'm fine." Luke thankfully came back to earth… for the moment anyway." He walked to where Jess stood and set the coffee back on the warmer and absentmindedly rubbed his palms against his jeans and headed upstairs. "Watch the diner." He said to Jess without even so much as a look.

"Sweaty palms." Jess said aloud to himself.

Ten minutes later and five minutes to four o'clock, Luke returned downstairs. And to Jess he looked the same as he did when he went up the first time. Possibly even worse. _What the hell did he do up there for ten minutes?_

"You're forgetting the flowers Luke." 

Luke didn't even acknowledge what Jess had said. 

"This is insane. Why does she want me to meet her at the Gazebo? Why can't she just come to the diner? And what the hell is with the Zorro mask? **I can tell it's her**." He ranted, his uneasiness was very apparent.

Jess watched in amazement. He's never seen his uncle like this. It was quite funny.

"Would you calm down?"

"**I am calm**." Luke glared.

"It's four o'clock." Jess said tapping on his watch. "You better go." 

Luke glanced at his watch to confirm that it was indeed four o'clock, and then walked towards the door. But he didn't open it. He just parted the blinds with his finger and peered out towards the Gazebo. 

It was empty. There was no Lorelai.

His brows straighten out of confusion. "She's not even there."

Jess smirked and shook his head. _If only Luke had watched the movie._

"Would you go already?" 

Luke turned around. "She's not even there. Why go?"

Jess scratched his brow in annoyance. "She's being fashionably late. **Go**."

Luke turned to the diner door once more. That time he looked around the outskirts of the gazebo - still no sign of Lorelai anywhere.

"**Go**." Jess ordered again, obviously fed up.

Luke finally left the diner, not because he wanted to, but because his nephew was being annoying.

He took a seat on the wooden bench inside the gazebo. He fidgeted, trying to find a 'I'm cool and collected' way to sit. Finally finding one, he casually glimpsed down at his watch. It read 4:04. Still no Lorelai in sight. 

"This is insane." He garbled under his breath.

Somewhere behind him, he could hear the annoying ringing of a payphone. He had paid no mind to it for the last minute. But like an alarm clock, it was unrelenting. He was now aware of it and it irritated him to no end. Some nice higher being must have heard him because the ringing stopped.

"Hey mister!" He heard a boy yell. "Heyy misster!"

He twisted around and saw a little boy holding up the phone and waving him over.

"It's for you!"

"For me?" His face painted with disbelief.

He walked uncertainly towards the boy. _What the hell is going on here?_

"Are you sure it's for me?"

"Yeah. She said the guy wearing flannel and the baseball cap."

He snatched the phone from him and put it up to his ears. He didn't say anything immediately. 

"Hello?"

"Follow the blue paws Luke."

"Wha-" The person on the other end had already hung up.

Luke looked along the street and huh would you look at that - huge paws drawn in blue chalk one after another, seemingly leading somewhere. He followed them all the way up to the magazine stand a block away. 

Again he heard a pay phone ringing. He picked it up without a second thought. 

"Who is this?"

"Cosmo. Page fifty-four."

And then her voice was gone again.

"Uh…" Luke shook his head. "Cosmo?" He asked the owner of the stand. The owner didn't say a word. Luke followed his eyes to the table. There it was. Cosmopolitan. Luke pointed to make certain that he could take it. The guy nodded.

Flipping the magazine to page fifty-four, he saw three more wacky Polaroid pictures taped to the page. Each one marked with words. The first is a picture of a finger pointed _at him_ with the words 'Do you' written beside it. The second, a hand strategically positioned in front her face so as to shield her identity with the words 'want to' clearly written across the palm. And the third… he can't tell what the hell it was but it read 'meet me?'… _is__ that a body part?_

Luke's secretly smiled. He was no longer irritated or annoyed. If anything… he was having a blast being giddy like a schoolboy with a crush. His thoughts in high gear, wondering what this all could mean. 

Out of Luke's sight, Lorelai hid behind the bushes only a few feet away from him, watching her own mini movie unfold before her very eyes. 

"I'm sooo good." Lorelai's smile held nothing but satisfaction. 

"Shhh. He might hear you." Sookie shifted from her awkward crouching. "Can we go now? I can't feel my toes."

"Yeah…" Lorelai said not really paying attention. She was clearly distracted by something. She stared momentarily at his butt, her head tilted a little to the side. "Wow. From this angle… Luke has a _very_ shapely butt."

Sookie giggled. "Oh my God. I can't believe I've never noticed that. It's kinda… plump."

The two grown women ogling Luke's behind both giggled a little too loudly.

Luke turned toward the bushes. 

Lorelai quickly covered her mouth and Sookie's with both her hands and they stayed completely still.

**A/N:** Wanna free chapter? Press the Go button and receive a free virtual coupon today. Hurry, quantities are limited!

*waves to Marissa, Leila, Dani, Ilona, Angel Monroe, Mija, and Becka* - Thanks for the welcome! _Such sweeties!_


	25. Set Me Free

** `*~ These Are Days ~*`**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess 

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing. 

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. *Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution* Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized! 

**A/N:** Can I just say I LOVE ALL MY REVIEWERS! Reviews are like a drug. Seriously. I think I'm addicted to them. I may just post like two sentences just to get some ;p Just kidding! Anyways, here's some more fluffity fluff fluff… I think it keeps getting fluffier… you've been warned…

Oh and keep an eye out for an update of **Your New Kuckoo, **the** These Are Days sequel**. It'll be up soon too… I think ;p 

**`**~// A Week Later. Independence Inn - Night \\~**`**

"Please, please, pleeease go home, Lorelai." The look on Michel's face was that of one who was petrified to be in the company of lepers while simultaneously forcing a look of sympathy. Michel hated all things contagious. He already had his bout with ennui and didn't feel like catching whatever funk Lorelai was in. 

Sookie glared at Michel as she soothed Lorelai's back tenderly. "Sweetie, for once, I agree with Michel. You really _should_ take the rest of the day off." She said nicely as opposed to Michel's actual groveling.

"Yes, you are scaring the tourists."

"**Michel**." Sookie warned. "Zip it." 

"Well she is. That little girl over there just asked me if she sees dead people."

Lorelai didn't twitch in her daze. Slouched over, with one hand under her chin, elbow resting on the front desk, unmoving, she could have been mistaken for The Thinker Statue… The Mumbling Thinker Statue. Every now and then, little indistinct words would escape her mouth. Some jumbled together, and others in the form of a heavy sigh. 

Lorelai took their advice to leave early and left the Jeep at the Inn, opting to walk home instead. A soothing stroll around the town might lighten her spirits. The beauty of Stars Hollow in the evening always relaxed her. She could walk leisurely down the street with her head hanging back and get lost in the vastness of blue above her and forget all her worries. Tonight the sapphire sky was littered with endless twinkling diamonds beckoning her to float in them. What woman could resist diamonds?

Her eyes now at her brightest blue, she hugged herself as the nightly cool breeze rustled through her hair and over her skin, creating happy tingling sensations. She inhaled and exhaled deeply. There was nothing like the fresh air of Stars Hollow. It was truly like no other. 

She felt better already.

The path she walked to get home sent her along Gypsy's Auto Shop, greeting Ms. Gypsy herself, whom she could barely see under the hood of the car she was currently fixing. _She sure is a petite lil' thing_, Lorelai mused. She passed the gasoline station. Crossed the street to the sidewalk, stepping over every crack for she didn't want to break her mother's back… _or__ did she?_ She laughed at her absurdity. She approached the Beauty Supply Store, peaked in and saw Jess' ex filing her nails behind the counter. She moseyed pass Taylor's Soda Shoppe before moseying back and actually going inside. The lovely smell alone was a mood lifter. Smelt of hot fudge and cold sweet melt-in-your-mouth treats. It was always warm and oh so inviting. 

"Hey Joshua."

"Ms. Gilmore. What can I get for you today, your usual Butter Brickle Crunch?" 

"Umm… naah, I think I'll go with Rory's favorite today, Chocolate chocolate chocolate." She set her purse onto the counter, muttering to herself that if she forgot her wallet in the trance-like state she had been in, she'd kill _Luke _personally. At this point in time, nothing was going to get in her way of having that icy cold goodness in her tummy.

"Would you like that in a cup or cone?"

"Cup please." Still digging around in her purse… no wallet? …_Nohoho__ wallet! _

"One or two scoops?" 

Nearing panic mode, Lorelai ventured into the zipper compartment and saw one heavenly looking five dollar bill and smiled big. "So many decisions for a taste of heaven huh. Make it one." 

While she waited, she inadvertently looked through the window into Luke's diner. She quickly turned her back, curtaining her hair over the side of her face, silently praying that it would actually make her invisible. _Stupid __Taylor__ and his stupid window.___

  
A whole week had passed since her plan played out and she had skillfully avoided Luke's Diner and more importantly Luke the person.For the past seven days, her little slaves Rory and Jess would bring her coffee and whatever she desired to eat from the diner. It was all part of her plan she told them. When in reality she was hiding. But she didn't know why exactly. Well it could be that she was waiting for Mr. Luke himself to make the next move. But days passed… and nothing. He showed no signs of interest. And that just confused her. Wasn't he supposed to be head over heels in _something_ over her? 

She stood outside the Soda Shoppe, already knowing she wasn't going anywhere near the diner. She would have to cut across the street to accomplish that feat. Her eyes fell upon the Gazebo, a Luke memory snuck up on her. The day he was sitting there on the bench, waiting for her, like he knew that she wanted to tell him she wanted to be with him... 

After her last bites of her ice cream she tossed the cup into a nearby trashcan and headed towards the Gazebo. 

_Might as well check out the new benches…_

So there she was, walking quite nonchalantly towards the Gazebo in the middle of the town. 

Then she saw it. Realization slowly set in. Somewhere in the recesses in the back of her mind, she's seen that piece of paper all around town… for days in fact. At Doose's Market when she went to pick up a weekend supply of Mallowmars. At the Video Store Friday night when she and Rory decided on Stand By Me for their usual movie after dinner with the Grandparents. At Gypsy's. Even at the Gas Station. At the Beauty Supply Store. At Taylor's Soda Shoppe just a few minutes ago. She saw it but never digested the weighted meaning of something so simple. That and the fact that they were meant for her. There taped on the very seat Luke sat on five days ago at exactly 4:02p.m.… was a piece of paper. If her smile could get any bigger she'd turn into the Cheshire Cat himself.

**`**~// Gilmore Home - Night \\~**`**

"When's your mom coming home?" His voice was gruff and sexy. It was his secret weapon she supposed. She would admit to herself it was a sweet torture. And she knew he knew it too. Even now she wished he'd _talk_ to her…

As she adjusted to the weight of him, the loose strap on her pale pink cami delicately fell around her left shoulder. His eyes followed its journey… almost in slow motion… _an invitation of some sort…_ He lightly nipped at her now bare shoulder, running a feely hand up and down her leg bent along his side. Her skin was always soft to his touch. Silky. Satiny. Sometimes shimmering. But always, always her skin held the scent of a girly flowery Rory sweetness. 

  
His eyes openly roamed over her breasts… because he can. In fact, she derived great pleasure in watching him gape at her with his lustful chocolate eyes and pitifully boyish expression.

He noticed from the moment she answered the door an hour ago, there was no bra covering those breasts. And from the moment he realized this, he knew he wouldn't be able to wait for the movie to be over… to… do… what they _did_ on _DVD nights_… 

Surely, she caught his not so subtle sideward and _geeze_… _frontward_ glances during the movie. His response would be: 'What? You did _that_ on purpose', and she'd smirk because there was a tiny hint of truth in his statement. Her decision to go bra-less was a last minute choice. All of her pretty bras were in the laundry, and since neither she nor Lorelai gave in to doing laundry for the week, all she had left were dinky plain boring ones. Enter _'why not go bra-less?'_ thought. She had only a couple minutes to ponder the thought, because for once in a blue moon, Jess decided to show up early.

  
When she'd turn back to watch the movie, he'd stretch his arm in the air while his other covered a fake yawn, then he'd hang his previously stretched arm around her shoulder causing her to shake her head at him and smirk at his adolescent moves. Only minutes later, a snaky finger would lightly play with the enticing nipple poking against the thin fabric. 

He loved summer. He couldn't remember loving anytime of the year until now. Summer meant beautiful Rory in tank tops and shorts and skirts. Bare legs. Bare arms. Skin and more skin. His eyes and hands free to feast on every gorgeous inch as he pleased. 

"When's your mom coming home?" He asked a second time in between his kisses.

Being caught by her mom in their horizontal From Here to Eternity moment was an encounter Jess didn't want to have to _encounter_. For the past couple of weeks they've upped their necking sessions to grinding sessions. Very _intense_ grinding sessions. Ones that later left Jess alone with his mind in the shower imagining his own version of what could've occurred if neither of them held back. 

It had become a nice routine, albeit harsh and painful at times, but very nice nonetheless: He would come over. They'd talk. Pop in a choice DVD. And soon they'd end up in the same exact position they were in at that very moment. Jess comfortably settled in the hub of Rory's legs, his _piece_ jumping against her making her squeal attractively. He'd playfully _talk dirty_ to her, make her laugh and snicker at how ridiculous he sounded, but then, his lower body would move to manipulate her, and soon his naughty words would take their desired effect.__

"Maybe we should go to your room…" 

Rory was too distracted to respond, concentrating on the lovely and somewhat new-fangled sensations coming alive as Jess pushed his body against her in ways that made her crave and privately scream _more!_

"Rory..."

He halted his lower body movements altogether…

_Maybe that'll get her attention. _

"Don't stop," she whispered warmly into his ear, smoothing her pelvis over his, urging him to keep going.

After a few persuading pumps of her own and still no kind of movement from him, her hazy eyes opened slightly to see Jess' smirk. 

"What?" She was completely out of the loop when he said things that didn't involve him telling her what he'd _do _to her. _Funny how being turned on makes you have selective hearing. _

"I asked you a question." He said clearly amused.                                                                                                                

"Oh. Sorry... What was the question?" In all honestly, she didn't hear the question.

His hair tickled her nose when he shook his head at the look of her truly innocent blue eyes. 

_Silly Rory._

"I said 'what time is your mom coming home? Maybe… we should go to your room'." 

Rory slipped her hand out from under his shirt to look at her watch. "I think we're safe for at least another hour." 

"See. Now how hard was that?" Jess joked, kissing her lightly on the tip of her nose.

She shushed him, moving her chin up so his lips touched hers. 

Jess continued his onslaught there. The gentleness of his lips seduced and teased, and she grew reckless with every passing kiss. His fingers tickled their way up her thigh and under the hem of her cargo skirt. Within seconds her thighs and a certain unmentionable were no longer covered by the khaki fabric. 

His fingers brave and fearless, brushed against the floral satin between her legs… slow-long meaningful strokes… _a deep breath_… 

_Rory was wet_…

This new found discovery made Jess dizzy from the blood rush to his lower regions. Removing his hand, he brought it up to the side of her face, taking a silky strand of her hair between the tips of his fingers following down the length of it, then rested his head on her shoulder, his eyes focused on the strand's end amid his two fingers. Somewhere, he was pulsating more than ever before… 

He slowly ground against her with more cause… massaging, inducing soft moans music to any guy's ear. Time passed and his tantalizing continued… 

_Damn_ _you Jess…_

  
He could feel her warm fingers slipping through the elastic of his boxers. Awkward and shy at first, slowly catching up with the moment. Soon her hands gripped and pushed his ass, utilizing and operating it to her desire. 

_Fuuck__…_

His teeth grazed lightly at her collarbone. His way of saying thanks for the overwhelming urge to come on her.His tongue lightly licked the hollow of her neck before his lips tickled her there and underneath her chin. He released the strand, bringing his hand back to her middle, before anything embarrassing happened without his control. He stroked and fondled her there for some time, causing her to drip through the satin and douse his fingers with her slippery goodness. What he wouldn't do to just feel that on him…

Again, he ground into her, silently wishing all man-made materials would disappear. 

Her breath was jagged and warm near his ear and he could feel her pulse race against his skin. His heart pounded with the excitement of it all, working up the 

nerve to bring her to a whole new world of pleasure. His two fingers snuck under the satin material, through the coarse hair to her moist opening.

Her hazy eyes latched onto his, begging for something more…

She should know by now that she didn't have to beg… he'd do anything for her…

He watched as her mouth opened slightly, her moans a little more formed and a little more urgent…

**`**~// Gilmore Home – Outside \\~**`**

Lorelai stood on her front porch, staring at nothing in particular. She grinned like an idiot, replaying the very events that were making her do that. She stared at the hand full of papers in her hand.

"Lorelai doll…" Babette called, walking up the side steps of the porch, interrupting her thoughts. She quickly hid the bunch of papers behind her back.

"Hey Babette." She greeted walking to meet her halfway.

"I need a favor suga'. I cooked up some clams for Morey tonight…," she nudged Lorelai's side with her elbow, "… it's an aphrodisiac. Once Morey's eaten about a dozen of those little boogers he gets all-"

"-**Uh** what was it you needed Babette?" She quickly interrupted her, saving herself from painting that horrible picture.

"Butter. Morey loves butter on his clams and I just realized that I forgot to stop at Doose's to buy some. Could you spare a stick hun?"

"Oh sure, of course." Lorelai approached the side door that led into the living room. "Come on in," she said waving her to follow. 

Babette's mouth dropped. For the first time in her life, she was at a loss for words.

"Ror-y" Lorelai gasped loudly at the sight of seeing Jess bearing down into her daughter. Her hand quickly flew up to cover her eyes, which was pointless. In that one instant her brain took a snap shot, one that she had no intention of taking, and in it she saw one of Jess' hands holding on to the armrest behind Rory's head and the other grasping the headrest seemingly using them to better anchor him so he could grind against her daughter. 

"Mom!" 

Rory frantically pushed Jess off of her and quickly stood up, gathering her senses, straightening her clothes. Jess preferred to stay seated on the couch, unnoticeably sliding one of the small pillows over his lap. No need to further embarrassment. 

  
Lorelai turned to Babette. Big Mouth Babette. 

"Uh Babette, the butter's in the fridge," she said, pushing her in the direction of the kitchen. "Go ahead and help yourself, I bet Morey's wondering what the hold up is."

"Alright sweetie." Babette walked slowly across the living room floor, trying to catch more meat to beef up this already juicy piece of gossip. "Hi Rory." She said, wink and all. 

"Hey… Babette." Rory greeted back uncomfortably, scratching her eyebrow. The growing heat of her embarrassment stained her cheeks. 

No one said a thing until they heard the back door of the kitchen close. 

This was just as awkward to Lorelai as it was for Rory and Jess. Kinda like walking in on your parents having sex, except it in this scenario it were the daughter and boyfriend experimenting with innocent foreplay. 

Lorelai forced a smile, a little sympathy for Rory. Keyword _little_. She's far too young to be doing _that_… well at least from a mother's standpoint. That's a big contradiction considering she was only a few years younger than Rory when she had sex. And they weren't even having sex… they were just… _AAHH! _The strong urge to throw the floor lamp that was only at an arms length away from where she stood was, for Jess' sake, held in check. Rory was a big girl now; a young intelligent woman who can make her own grown-up decisions. There was no need to further any humiliation. No need to inflict pain on the boy she's likes. _Right?___

_Wrong._

"**Please** tell me you were not just now having sex." Lorelai's eyes were shut. _They couldn't have been having sex right?! They were fully clothed for christsake!_ She couldn't look at her or for that matter, _him_… the evil-boy who wants to take her daughter's virginity. 

Rory quickly shook her head. 

"**No**… we weren't… we were just-," Rory faltered, too embarrassed to actually put a name on what they _were_ doing. 

Lorelai opened her eyes. 

"**You**." She pointed a commanding finger at Jess. "**Get out.**"

"**Mom-**" Rory began to protest.

Jess rolled his eyes, dropping his head in his hands, exhausted with Lorelai's tantrums. After all this time, can't she just get over the fact that her daughter wasn't a little girl anymore?? Luckily, she missed his actions. She was too busy glaring at Rory, making her unable to finish what she wanted to say. 

Lorelai closed her eyes, messaging her temples, regaining some semblance of calmness. She wanted to be rational. Really she did. But seeing her_ baby_ doing something that no mother should walk in on didn't sit well with her. It wouldn't sit well with any mother!

"**Leave Jess.**" 

He stood up beside Rory, his back turned towards Lorelai and smiled ruefully, affectionately smoothing his knuckles up and down the length of her arm that she was scratching nervously. 

"I'll call you later?" 

With a slight nod and a reassuring smile from Rory, Jess silently slipped out of the Gilmore house, leaving Rory to handle the repercussions on her own. He would have stayed and helped talk their way out of this one, but when Lorelai says _'get out' _and_ 'leave Jess' _ in that particular _'don't fuck with me'_ tone, then you best get the hell out of her house.

**`**~// Gilmore Home – Outside \\~**`**

Jess adjusted himself again. You'd think that from Lorelai's interruption he'd _soften up_… not so. In the midst of some adjusting, there was a…

"Fuck." He said out loud to himself. And stupidly he tried to brush it away. 

_Dumbass__.__ Wet stains don't fly away. _

Well this was a first. Rory had marked her territory. Just thinking about it, he had to re-adjust again.

Shaking his head and smirking thoughtfully as he walked down the steps of her front porch trying to find a way to hide it. He reached in his back pocket for a book… now all had to do was make it home. He held the book in front, casually covering the lovely Rory stain. 

"Hey Jess."

He stopped short, before he actually bumped into her.

_Shit, _he cursed his luck.

His eyes encountered Sydney's catching smile.

A forced smile and a low 'hey', he moved around her and kept on, book coolly in place.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you." He cautioned, turning his head to acknowledge her.

"Why?" Sydney followed behind him. "Wait up… why shouldn't I go in there?" She kept with him, right by his side, not going anywhere.

He sighed, looking away from her, still walking. "Rory's mom's knocking some sense into her." 

"What do you mean?"

"Look, why don't you call her later and ask her yourself." Then realizing he sounded too harsh for his own good he added, "I'll see you later."

  
She finally took the hint and stopped walking with him, and then suddenly her cell phone started to vibrate in her shorts pocket. She reached for it, scanning to see who it was before she answered it.She grinned. She should have known it would be _Tristan._

**`**~// Inside the Gilmore Home \\~**`**__

Lorelai remained silent, trying to be calm. She shrugged, shaking her head.****

"What do you want me to say Rory?"

"We weren't even…" Mortified, she couldn't even look at her mother. 

  
"Are you having **_sex_** with **Jess**?" Lorelai had never been so terrified to hear the answer. "I want the truth."

"**No**. We've never-" She sighed in frustration. She couldn't complete her sentences. 

"You know… to be honest with you, I hoped and prayed that the two of you would have broken up before it could even reach _that_ point," she said motioning towards the couch. "I hoped that by now you would finally see that Jess just isn't right for you… He has no promising future."

Lorelai didn't miss the look of shock and disappointment in Rory's eyes. Of course that was a stupid thing to say to her… it wasn't true. She never thought that about Jess.

Rory couldn't believe that those very words came out of her mother's mouth. Never, in a million years, did she see that coming. 

"I thought… I thought you liked Jess."

"Hey. I like Jess. I like Jess just fine. I just don't think he's the right guy for you… You could do so much better Rory." _And the lies just keep on hitting._ Lorelai was upset and angry and every other adjective associated with those two words. 

Tears threatened to form in Rory's eyes. "Why are you saying these horrible things to me? Where is this coming from?!"

Lorelai sighed. She felt awful. She was scum. She was the tiny creature that fed on scum. Until tonight she never thought those things about Jess. Until tonight she thought Jess was a great guy for Rory. 

"I **can't** talk about this. Not now."

Rory made a move for the front door, muttering under her breath something along the lines of _I can't believe this…_

"Where are you going?!"

  
She didn't answer. The door slamming was the only sound she heard. 

"**AUGH**!" Lorelai groaned, absentmindedly throwing the papers onto the coffee table before running upstairs. "If Rory was a boy I wouldn't be having this problem!"

**`**~// Meanwhile Outside Gilmore Home \\~**`**

Sydney flipped open her cell.****

"Hey you." She said into the mouth piece.

"Hey sexy. Miss me?"

"Yeah, it's been what… a whole hour since I last talked to you?"

"Hahaaa… I missed you." He admitted cutely. "I stopped by your house to see you but your mom said you weren't home."

Sydney smilled. "Hm… Eager much Tristan?"

"For you babe… always. I thought maybe we could order some pizza and hang out tonight."

"Yeah, we could do that. Are you still at my house?"

"Yeah, where're you at?"

"Well, at the moment I'm standing in the middle of the street in front of Rory's house."

"Ah… back to ho'in the streets again I see."

Sydney laughed. "Yup. Just call me Vivian."

"I'll be there in a few… and get out of the street before that Taylor actually gives you an offer."

"That wasn't even remotely funny Tristan. That was just plain gross."

She heard some shuffling, keys jingling, a door open and slam shut, then the sound of a car starting.

"Sydney!" Rory called from the porch, jogging across the lawn to meet her.

Sydney waved.

"What are you doing standing in the middle of the street?"

"I'm Vivian-ing it tonight. Care to be Kit?"

Rory looked at her funny, but new exactly what movie she was talking about.

"Nevermind. I was just talking to Tristan- and- nevermind. You just had to be there. Anyways, I ran into Jess, and he told me that I shouldn't go inside because your mom was and I quote 'knocking some sense into you.' What's that all about?"

Rory's face turned worried. Jess should know by now that her mother could never change her feelings about him. 

"What's the matter Rory?"

"Hello?" A faint Tristan could be heard through Sydney's cell phone.

"Well-," Rory started.

Sydney signaled Rory to hold off for a second. "Yeah Tristan, I'll see you when you get here okay?... Bye."

Rory filled Sydney in on the whole debacle, naturally leaving out anything that didn't need to be mentioned.

Tristan's SUV pulled up along side the two girls still standing in the middle of the street.

Sydney greeted her boyfriend with a lingering kiss.

"Hey." His voice was low and husky, as if his hello was only meant for her. "I thought you never kiss on the lips." He said smirking.

She kissed him on the lips again, and then stepped aside to reveal Rory.

Rory waved a small wave at Tristan. Other things were on her mind and she wasn't up for conversation. 

Tristan smirked at her. He couldn't stop his eyes from sliding down and up the length of her. He smiled to himself, ruffling his hair, quickly looking away before the females took notice.  "Three thousand for both of you."

"Okay… you guys are acting a little too nutty right now so I'll leave you two alone." She joked and started to walk away from them.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. I just know that I can't go home right now, but I'll be fine. Seriously."

Sydney jogged over to her grabbing her gently but firmly by the arm. 

"Wait, come hang out with us."

"No seriously. I'll be fine."

"No. Seriously. You're coming with us."

Rory gave in. She really didn't have anywhere to go. She had to get away from everything humiliating. And that meant any place where her mother or Jess or Babette would be. _God! Babette!_ Soon the whole town would find out and she'd be even more humiliated. 

_Could this day get any worse?_

It was a little after midnight when Rory arrived home. The house looked quiet and dimly lit from an outside perspective and she could only hope that her mother wasn't in there waiting up for her. She and Tristan had been sitting on the porch steps for about a half hour, talking and every now and then watching the brainless moths burn themselves on the porch light behind them. He could sense that she didn't want to go inside, but didn't push her to tell him why.

"I'm so glad I'm not one of them." Rory said, turning to Tristan.

Tristan smiled, lifting his head back up. His current position was rather comfortable. Elbows propping him up, his legs stretched out before him. Rory was in a similar position, until her back started cramping up, so she sat up with her back against the wooden railing.

"You really didn't have to drive me home. I could've walked."

"And run the risk of you being kidnapped? I don't think so."

"Need I remind you that we are in Stars Hollow?"

"Hey you may think that your cocoon of a town is safe, but there's always a psycho freak lurking around in waiting. And when he strikes, I'd rather it be someone other than you." Tristan told her, casually winking at her. 

Rory rolled her eyes at him.

"Besides, Sydney's mom was trying to find a good excuse for me to leave, and me taking you home was a perfect one."

"Why do you say that?"

"Let's just say it's not the first time she's wanted me to shorten my stay. She thinks I'm spending too much time with Sydney."

Rory smiled. "Well, you are pretty much over at her place _every_ day."

Tristan ruffled his hair. "A little much huh."

"You just like her."

"That obvious?"

Rory nodded, giving him a comforting smile. Tristan had fallen and fallen hard.   
  


"It's cute."

"It's **not** _cute_. It's pathetic… That's it. I'm staying away from her. She's ruining me."

"You can't stay away Tristan. Face it. You're doomed to a life of being whipped."

He shifted forward, sitting up. "Hey. I. Am. Not. Whipped." His finger pointed straight in between her eyes making her cross-eyed when she stared at it.

"You are too soo whipped." She teased, pushing his finger out of her face. "You're practically glued to her side."

"Am I with her right now? No. I'm not."

"Because her mom made you take me home."

"She could've come, but she didn't."                                            

"You wanted her to didn't you? So you could go make-out and do all the kissy kissy lovey dovey stuff that whipped boys such as yourself thrive on."

He shook his head at her. "Heartless Gilmore. Heartless."

She childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

"Where's _your_ Siamese twin tonight?" He dared to ask. She hasn't so much as mentioned his name once today.

"Oh… he's probably at home, sleeping."

She was no longer looking at him. It looked like she was staring at his ear; but really, she was staring at the gnome on Babette's lawn behind him. 

"Something wrong? You look distracted… Are you and Jess in a fight or something?"

"What?" She was in a daze, thinking about Jess.

"Are you and Jess fighting?"

"Oh no. We're great actually. Progressing very nicely." Her smile was forced to hide the fact that something was bothering her.

"Progressing?" He said, confused, but when she smiled that certain smile, he knew exactly what it meant.

Another hour had passed and the two have since moved to lying on the hood of Tristan's SUV, still talking.

"You know… I never knew you could eat so much. You ate more slices of pizza than me and Sydney put together."

"It's in the Gilmore genes, though we may have to run some tests on Lane. She could be my long lost sister. She can consume just as many if not more slices of pizza. Either that or me and my mom are highly influential people if around us for a lengthy period of time." 

"I'm curious as to where it all goes."

"A lady never reveals her secrets."

Tristan nodded his head in mock understanding. 

"I think I'm starting to really like her." He said quietly. 

She could tell from the look in his face that he was being a hundred percent sincere.

"Well she already _really_ likes you so try not to screw this one up." 

"Kinda hard to do when fucking good things up is my specialty. Girls like her… and," he leaned his head in closer to hers, "-_you,_ are hard to come by."

Rory hoped the warm feeling in her cheeks wasn't her blushing. It was a good thing it was dark out. "Not that I really pay attention to rumors or gossip that float around school, but I've heard that you've been with a lot of girls Tristan. There has to be at least one girl that you _loved_."

"There may have been one…we went out for a year."

"Wow." Rory's eyes widened in amazement. 

"Impressive right?" Tristan seemed like he was in his own world. Thinking about a past that he had buried and wanted to keep buried. "I actually thought we had something serious. Then I found out she was fucking my best friend."

"Oh God."

"Not once. Not twice, but probably half of the year we were together."

"How did you not know? She never once slipped."

"We had the same circle of friends. I didn't think twice about it when they hung out. Besides, I was too naive and too _whipped_ as you would say to have noticed anything… I was so into that girl Rory…"

Rory frowned. "How did you find out?"

"God." He looked away and smiled in disgust. "They were getting sloppy. The two of them and a couple other people threw me a party-" He shook his head remembering, "my _birthday_ party. Everyone was pretty much wasted. I didn't have that much to drink though, but I was in the study lying down. My head was pounding from the live music... and basically just from everyone there. Plus, I had other stuff on my mind…" He turned away. But before he did, she caught a glimpse of hurt that adorned his face. "It was the anniversary of my grandmother's death."

Rory's mouth dropped slightly, feeling a shiver run through her body. "I'm so sorry." 

He chuckled to ease the tense-filled moment they fell into and not wanting to delve into that particular part of his life. "Anyways, to make a long story short, they snuck into the study, thinking it was empty, airing out all their dirty little secrets right before my very ears."

"That's horrible."

"And that… is my sob story."

"Tristan-"

"Do me a favor and don't tell Sydney okay?"

"Okay," she said quietly. 

After letting him have a few minutes to himself, she broke the silence, lightly bumping him on his shoulder with hers.

"Hey. Thanks for keeping me company tonight. Surprisingly, I had fun… _again_." She teased.

"Ha ha. Yeah, surprisingly you're not so much the boring prude I always assumed you were." He joked.

Rory's mouth dropped and she pinched him hard in his side. "Jerk!"

"Ow!" He grabbed her hand and rested his arm around her shoulder, playfully hugging her. "Ya know I got nothin' but love for ya."

  
She glared at him, pretending to still be offended, trying to shrug away from his hold. 

Finally loose from his grip, she jumped off the hood of the SUV, dusting her bottom off when she reached the ground. "I should really go inside."

"Right." Looking down at his watch, he saw that it was almost one o'clock. He jumped down too as she started to walk away. 

"Hey. If you ever wanna hang out like this again…"

Talking to her was like talking to his grandfather. He could tell her things and say things he wouldn't tell his closest friends. There was a certain comfort he got from her and he liked it.

"Yeah, same goes for you too Tristan." 

"Will do." Tristan simpered and walked over to the driver's side. "Oh and call me if you're having trouble sleeping. I've been told I've been blessed with a special talent to make a girl sleep like a baby." He continued to joke.

She was already up the porch stairs. "It must've been really difficult to hold that in." She joked back. 

He nodded, agreeing. "Very."

Inside, Lorelai was asleep on the couch, looking rather restless when Rory stood before her silently watching. She turned to go to her bedroom but stopped when she caught sight of a stack of papers on the coffee table. A small smile replaced her frown. Her mother finally saw the signs that Luke plastered all around town and collected them. 

Three simple words holding so much weight on their future. _When and Where?_ Luke wanted to know the time and place where he and her mom could finally get it together. 

"Hey. You're home." Lorelai said softly, trying not to startle her. She brought her legs into her, making room for Rory on the couch. 

Rory turned to leave the room.

"Rory come on. Come sit down with your mean ol' mother."

Rory folded her arms and stood facing her, making no move to sit down.

"I didn't mean those things I said…"

Rory dropped her arms to her sides, hoping that she was telling her the truth.

"… I was just upset and angry at the time." Lorelai offered a small smile. "I mean… put yourself in my shoes Rory. Look at what I walked in on."

Slowly, Rory walked over to the couch and sat down next to her.

"You can trust me to be careful."

Lorelai sighed. 

"I _do_ trust you to be careful Rory."

"And… Jess… he would never do anything to hurt me. You can trust him too."

"I want to sweetie… but… it's an extremely hard thing to do when I see Jess doing… what he was doing." 

Rory cringed a little.

"I know this is so incredible embarrassing… believe me, I'm just as embarrassed about this as you are. If you want, we can just forget all the ugliness from here on out."

"No. We can… _talk_ about this. I want to."

Lorelai smiled reassuringly. Happy her daughter could still be open with her about anything. 

"I think I might be ready."

Lorelai's heart stopped. _Even that.___

"Oh."

"Yeah. I've been thinking a lot about it lately and… when the time's right…"

Lorelai nodded, completely understanding, but not totally agreeing. 

"I… love him."

"I- I… wow… so, _we_ love Jess now huh?"

"Yup."

"When did this happen?"

"About a month ago."

"A whole month… and you didn't tell me?" The look of hurt on her face couldn't have been suppressed, even if she tried hard enough. "I wish you would've told me."

"I know. I wanted to, but… I guess I wanted it to be our thing first." She looked at her mom for any sign of understanding.

Lorelai smiled. "Ah to be young and in love. I miss that hun."

"It's going to happen for you too… and it looks like soon. " Rory grabbed the stack of papers and held them up.

_Enter __Cheshire__ Grin._

"Evil daughter. Why didn't you tell me? You let me suffer for a whole week."

"And ruin your fun?"

"What fun? I've been a complete mess."

"But it was all worth it when you finally read it though wasn't it?"

Lorelai smiled big. "Yes. Definitely worth being mopey, grumpy, and the other five dwarves for a whole week."

"Well now you can go back to being little Amélie. You're up."

*****

A/N: Coming soon… A pool party. Jess and… floaties? JLo's ass?? A punch drunk Paris? (**Geller** not _Hilton)_ Stay tuned… 


	26. The F Word

**These Are Days **

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing.

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution Oh… and it's definitely a Literati, anything else would be uncivilized!

**A/N: **Hey guys, remember me? It's been a while hasn't it… I'm updating on account of the lovely person who nominated my little story for the P&P Awards. It's the least I can do to say thank you. Definitely turned my frown upside down (I've been in a tiny funk lately). Anyhow, this chapter is dedicated to **sarahl**…

Make way people. I said make way people! Major fluff ahead…

****

**..…'.' Doosie's – Afternoon '.' …..**

Lorelai pondered her current predicament - stuck with the sucky job of having to buy the junk food for Friday movie night. Okay, so… in all honestly, it didn't suck that much. In fact she loved shopping for junk food. Really she did. Having eyes bigger than her stomach meant never leaving something behind, because she bought _everything_ her junk-heart desired. What did suck was the fact that she wouldn't be eating said junk food or partaking in the actually movie watching activities. Somehow she was left out of the usual threesome equation. This time willingly. One minute she was all excited that today was Friday. Dinner with the parents – _blah_, followed by movie night with Rory and Jess - _yay__ right?...wrong_. She still couldn't erase that god-awful image of Jess_ foreplaying_ Rory.

_Augh_ _GetoutgetoutGETOUT_Looking around, she was relieved to see that no one witnessed her pounding her head senselessly with a box of Ding Dongs.

She made up a totally unbelievable lie excusing her from the movie night and fed it to Rory. She hated lying to her daughter. So selfishly, to make her feel less guilty, she offered to buy the goods.

Her daughter wasn't stupid. Rory knew she lived for Friday nights with her _and_ believe it or not Jess. He actually mocked at the Gilmore level of mocking which was a very difficult feat to accomplish. Yep, they had a grand ol' time together. All three of them… until stupid Jess decided to go full hormonal on her daughter.

_Stupid Jess and his stupid hormonal tendencies._

"Oo marshmallows." She grabbed a bag of Jett Puffed marshmallows, mentally reminding herself that she needed to get a box of graham crackers and a couple of Hershey bars. She headed straight for the candy aisle, her favorite aisle…

"Oof!"

"Ow!"

Luke and Lorelai, both in their own little worlds collide with brut force as they rounded the same corner.

"Watch it!" They both say at the other as they bend down to pick up the items that had dropped to the floor.

"Lorelai?"

When his voice registered, she looked up and grinned. "Luke."

_Luke…what a lovely surprise…_

"You haven't been by the diner in a while." Luke finally said after a few odd seconds of unbearable silence. He offered his hand to help her up.

"Yeah. Been kinda busy. With the Inn and all."

Luke nodded. "Right, right. How's that going?"

They both knew they were stalling the inevitable. It had been a few days since Lorelai discovered Luke's reply plastered all over the town. _Where and When?_ She had yet to answer him. But now… here he was … in person… standing right in front of her…

_Enough with the games Gilmore!_ She proclaimed to herself.

"Luke?" Here goes nothing…

"Huh."

"Are you by any chance free this Saturday?"

Luke began to nod, not even thinking whether or not he really was. She was asking him out…

"Uh, yeah."

"Let's do something."

"Do something?"

"Dinner."

"Dinner?'

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

Lorelai glared at him funnily.

Luke laughed. "Yeah let's do dinner."

**..…'.' Gilmore Home – Saturday Night '.' …..**

_Where is it?_

Drawer after drawer Rory searched for the t-shirt she stole from Jess a week ago. It had lost its Jess scent only a couple days after she had _acquired_ it and she wanted to switch it out for another. This little obsession of hers had managed to manifest itself into a secret routine.

The first time it happened was purely by accident. Being her usual clumsy self one hilarious night at Luke's place where one minute she was lounging on the brown leather couch, enjoying her two scoop chocolate chocolate chocolate ice cream in a cone when next she found herself drowning in a sea of chocolate syrup.

She blamed Jess. Never indulge a Gilmore with more chocolate. Things tend to get very ugly and Jess had to learn that first hand. After all the laughing and mocking on Jess' part, he decided to be nice and help her out. He gave her one of his shirts to change into, one that she wore home later that night. She slept in it, not even thinking twice about it. Unleashing the delicious sleeping powers one simple t-shirt could hold. A completely different dimension was discovered. One she found to be very addictive.

And so began her secret obsession. At least once every three to four days, she had herself a new Jess shirt.

"Mom." Rory called out from her bedroom.

Lorelai came bouncing down the stairs, brushing her newly shampooed hair. "Yeah?" She responded, meeting her in the kitchen.

"Have you seen Jess' Deftones t-shirt?"

"Uh… no?"

"Mom..."

"What?"

"You need to work on hiding that guilty look. Your skills are not up to par these days."

"Fine. It's in the laundry room. Neatly folded. On top of the dryer."

"You… washed it?" Rory questioned carefully, not hinting on to her little secret.

"Hey I wash whatever makes it into the dirty pile. And the Delftones shirt was in your dirty pile missy."

Confused, Rory didn't remember ever putting it in her dirty pile. However, she figured it was for the better. Returning the shirt to him laundered instead of not laundered would be more considerate of her… even if he wouldn't know one way or the other.

Flicking the light on in the small room, she immediately saw the neatly folded black shirt. Her heart stopped short, wishing her eyes were deceiving her. Slowly, she picked it up, letting the black fabric dangle. Her other hand held up the other side as she stared at it in disbelief.

_Shit._

"**MOM**. What… did you… do?"

Lorelai was just a few seconds away from escaping out the back kitchen door when Rory rushed out of the laundry room.

She slowly turned around, a myriad of excuses fluttering around in her head.

"I uh… ha… sorry?"

"This is Jess' favorite shirt." Rory said, straining to contain her uneasiness. "He's going to kill me. He doesn't even know I have it."

"Well, just sneak it back in his room. He'll never notice."

Rory held up the shirt to her mother's face. "This shirt fit's a four year old now. I think he'll notice!"

Lorelai's suppressed a smile. "Hey. Didn't I teach you that it's wrong to steal things that aren't yours?"

"I didn't _steal_ it… I merely _borrowed_ it… without him knowing."

"Hun. That's called stealing," she confirmed.

Ignoring her, "I was going to return it."

"Stuff it back in his drawer. He'll blame Luke. There. No more worries."

"You are incorrigible." Rory didn't know what else to do but pace around the kitchen like the true freak she was. Yes. She was the kind of freak who stole her boyfriend's t-shirts and slept in them. "What am I going to do?"

"I told you what to do."

"I'm not gonna let Luke take the blame." Rory said slightly disappointed in her mother for actually suggesting that out loud.

"Why not?" Lorelai said innocently.

"And here I thought you liked Luke."

The two froze when a knock on the front door startled them. The door opened then closed. Four possible suspects who always knocked and walked into their home: Sookie. Lane. Sydney. Jess.

"Anybody home?" A male voice asked.

Rory grimaced staring at the tiny shirt in her hand. She threw it at her mother and quickly walked into the foyer to meet him before they could be discovered.

"Jess?"

Lorelai quickly stuffed the now baby tee into the oven before following after Rory.

"Hey." He greeted her with a soft kiss on her forehead before he settled down on the couch.

Lorelai headed upstairs without so much as a glance in his direction. He watched until her figure disappeared.

"Dismembering me still at the top of her list of things to do?"

"Give it time." She flopped down next to him, arms folded.

"She won't look at me or say hi."

"Can you blame her? You were doing very naughty things to her kid. Of course she won't look at you."

Jess smirked. He stared at his hands, at the large bandage that covered his palm. "Pretty humiliating stuff."

"No kidding."

He leaned in closely to her. "You enjoyed it though right?"

"So not the point but yes. Very much so." Her smile was the most genuine thing he'd ever seen.

"I didn't mean to let things get out of hand." He said in a low tone. "I shouldn't have… _here_…"

Rory nodded, bringing her legs into an Indian style sitting position.

"We both got carried away… can't let that ever happen again in this house."

He smirked, thinking to himself. _Where can it happen then?_ Luke's place was definitely off limits. He still hasn't let up on coming up to the apartment every ten minutes to check up on them. He didn't even bother to use his lame excuses anymore like forgetting his order pad or oh here's a funny one… his pen. Ten minutes. He could work his magic in ten minutes. He has worked his magic in ten minutes. But this was Rory…

He leaned his head next to hers, his lips only centimeters away from her ear. "So I guess no more _DVD nights_ when your mom's at work?"

She shook her head, ignoring the tingles that started her up in the first place.

"She could come home early again, and I don't think I or my mother would be able to live through another humiliating scene like that."

Rory saw that he was fiddling his hand. She took his into hers and examined it.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Luke heard about the incident and stabbed me."

Rory gave him her stern face. "Seriously. What happened?"

"I was cutting a bagel with a rather super sharp knife. Sliced right into my hand. The bagel sopped up most of the blood. Kirk fainted. It was ugly."

"Oh God." She winced, feeling a little faint at the thought. "Are you alright?"

"Luke drove me to the hospital. The good doctor stitched it up. I'm all pretty again." He said with his crooked smile reassuring her.

"Why didn't you call me?"

"It was no big deal."

"You could've called me." She sounded a little upset. "Anything involving blood and _you_ warrants a phone call to _me_. Okay?"

He nodded only to get her off his back.

"You must've been daydreaming about me again." She joked, grinning up at him.

His eyes widened and he laughed. He wanted to say something smart, but nothing left his mouth. He was speechless. Shaking his head, the only thing he could come up with was, "Whatever." There was a 99.9% chance that she was right.

They sat in silence, each thinking their own private thoughts. The house was quiet for the most part except from the shuffling Lorelai made from upstairs.

"So I talked to Tristan last night."

Jess inwardly flinched, though no show of immediate jealously took full form on his features. Even though he and Tristan got along, the sound of his name coming from Rory's lips will never stop irritating him.

"Huh."

"Sydney's birthday is two weeks after school starts and he asked me to help plan a party for her."

"Oh yeah…doesn't he have people he could _pay_ to do that stuff for him?" He started messing with the wrap on his hand, lifting it up to assess the damage underneath.

Rory watched as he took his hand back. She quickly drew it back with a scolding look on her face.

"Don't do that."

He sighed, his head hanging, rubbing his brows with his other fingers. He hated being babied. It's a paper cut compared to the stab wound on his thigh. Now that was painful. Just a few inches to the left… he could have bled to death… but that's a whole 'nother story for another time…

"I know what Sydney likes."

"So does Lane," he pointed out a little too quickly.

"Mrs. Kim wouldn't let him near her. Sadly, past bad boy reputation has followed him to Stars Hollow."

Jess remained silent.

_How is that comforting?_

It wasn't in his nature to be this blunt with jealousy, so he didn't stress it any further.

"So is the party in Stars Hollow or at one of his many estates."

"He's thinking his pool house. There'll be swimming, barbequing, your basic summertime birthday party."

"Huh… I don't swim."

"What?"

"I don't swim."

"You don't swim as in you _can't_ swim or you don't swim as in you _can_ swim but too cool to mess up your hair."

He rolled his eyes. "I… _can't _swim."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope."

"You're kidding me." She smiled, amazed. "Everyone knows how to swim. Mrs. Kim knows how to swim…You don't know how to swim?"

Giggling, she thought of Jess with floaties around his arms.

"Stop."

"What?"

"You're picturing me with floaties around my arms."

"I am not."

"I know how you think." He pointed a finger at her warningly though the smiles on her face never faded. "Stop Rory."

"Aw. My little Jessie doesn't know how to swim." She paused, grinning bigger, "It's too cute."

He suddenly got up, untangling himself from her hands and stood before her.

"Stop or I leave." He was all serious on the outside, but she knew he really wasn't.

She looked up at him as adorable and as cute as she possibly could and grabbed his good hand.

"Come on. Sit."

"Only if you stop."

"Sit." She ordered and yanked him down next to her. "So, are you telling me you won't go swimming with me at Sydney's party?"

"Yup."

"Oh come on. I'll stay with you at the shallow end. Or… if you prefer the deep end, I have no problem hanging on the wall with you."

He sighed loudly, clearly frustrated with her antics. "No."

"Jess…" She whined.

"No."

"**Yes.**" She said boldly.

His eyebrows rose at Rory putting her foot down. Where did that come from? He's never heard that out of her. _It… turned him on…_

"You will wear your sexy tiny swim trunks and we will wade in the pool's shallow end."

_… and turned him off…_

He shook his head at her.

"End of discussion." Rory ordered.

"Wha-"

"I said end of discussion."

"You know what? I wanna break up."

She smiled widely at him, teeth and all. She slipped her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder…

"I don't own _tiny_ swim trunks. I'm not _Dean_."

She picked her head up and glared at him. "Well it's a good thing we have a good a month to search for some hmm."

"**I** choose my own trunks." He said forcefully. _It's_ _about time he acted like a man for once. Geeze._

She smiled again. He gets softer and softer each day. Slowly letting his walls down, allowing her in. No matter how degrading.

Out of the blue, she placed several kisses along his jaw line, receiving a puzzled look from him, and again rested her head on his shoulder.

"We'll see." She whispered, patting him on his forearm.

He couldn't help but smile.

**..…'.' Later that night '.' …..**

Lorelai rushed down the stairs, struggling with the back zipper of her dress.

"Rory!" She searched the living room for her favorite brunette. "Where the hell are you?!" She yelled out entering the kitchen. Still no Rory. Suddenly she stopped in front of her daughter's bedroom door.

_Oh god… please god…no more repeat performances okay? _

She knocked firmly on her door.

"Rory? Are you in there hun?" Seconds ticked loudly in her head. No answer. "I'm coming in."

Hesitantly, she opened the door. Her eyes closed, prepared this time to expect the unexpected. Once in the room, after a lengthy number of seconds, hearing no protests, she finally opened her eyes. The rapid beating of her heart slowly returned to normal with just one loud sigh of relief.

Rory innocently looked up from her book and removed her headphones. Jess shifted in her lap at the sudden movement, but didn't wake up.

"Hi." Lorelai said with an uneasy smile.

"Uh hi."

"I take it you haven't heard my frantic cries for help."

"No, I'm sorry. My music must've been louder than usual." She slowly stood up, successfully moving away without disturbing Jess. "What's wrong?"

"Can't…" Lorelai pointed awkwardly at her back, turning around and around like a cat chasing it's tail. "…zip the stupid zipper." She said all exhausted.

"Aw…" Rory's head tilted slightly as she regarded her mother. "You're freaking out about your date with Luke."

Lorelai scoffed at the idea. "Ha! I am not freaking out!"

Both Gilmore girls focused on the boy on the bed. Jess absently grabbed one of Rory's pillows and suffocated his head underneath it. Just as he would when Luke yelled at him in the mornings to get his lazy ass out of bed.

Rory turned back to her mother as she started to speak again.

"Ha! I am not freaking out!" She repeated, only this time in a whispered tone.

Rory headed into the kitchen with Lorelai hot on her heels.

"You are too, freaking out."

Lorelai plopped herself down on one of the kitchen chairs. Her hands dug into her hair as she rested her elbows on the table.

"I'm freaking out." She admitted.

Rory took a seat next to her mother, smoothing her back. "There's nothing to be nervous about mom. It's just Luke. Luke whom we've known for forever. This is not some random blind date."

"That's exactly why this makes it more nerve wracking. I have a date with Luke! Whom we've known forever! This'll be totally different from seeing him at the diner. We've never been out together. Just the two of us…"

"Well… just think Thanksgiving, minus me and Jess. See? You've already dated." Rory smiled.

"I'm sorry hun, but that doesn't help _at all_."

_Ding. Dong. _

Rory felt her mother's hands tighten around her arm. "Quick, answer the door and tell him I'm not here."

"What? You're crazy." Taking her mother by the arm, she struggled lifting her dead weight. "Come on." In one swift movement, Rory zipped the back of her mother's dress. "Go upstairs and put on those dangly earrings I love. I'll stall."

Lorelai stomped upstairs, glaring at her daughter in the process.

On the other side of the door was Luke. Equally, if not more nervous than her mother.

"Hey Luke."

"Rory."

Rory stepped aside. "Come in, come in." She said lightheartedly, almost taking too much pleasure in the two love-bird's edginess. "Aw Luke, you old softy. You bought her flowers."

Luke uncomfortably scratched his clashing backwards wearing hat head. "Uh yeah. You think she'll like these."

"She'll love them." She said reassuringly, as she led them into the living room. "Have a seat and I'll go get mom."

He wished the couch would swallow him whole. Here he was, sitting on Lorelai's couch, waiting for her to come down to him. For their date. Idly, he laid the flowers on the coffee table and rubbed his hands on his slacks.

"Sweaty palms and flowers. I knew it."

Nope. This day would not have been complete if his nephew wasn't there to mock him.

"Shut up."

"Aw, Uncle Luke…" Jess made himself comfortably on the chair adjacent to him. "… would you like me to get you a Corona?" He taunted, thumbing in the direction of the kitchen.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"My _girlfriend_ lives here." He answered, stating the obvious.

"I'll never understand what she sees in you." Luke teased.

"What can I say? I'm easy on the eyes." Jess took in Luke's attire. "Speaking of which, you look _dapper_. Finally wean yourself off flannel?"

Luke threw him a 'fuck you' glare. "Lorelai bought this for me a while back, something about being a gazillion percent off."

All of a sudden Jess busted a laugh.

"What now?"

"Lose the hat."

_That's what he'd forgotten._

Luke hurriedly removed his cap, folded it and stuffed it in his pant pocket, its tip sticking out like a sore.

Jess shook his head.

Luke ran his fingers through his hair, hopping he didn't have hat-hair. He searched around the room for a mirror. None was in immediate sight so he settled for Jess. "How's it look?"

The answer came in the form of a comb being trusted into the air, hitting him in the chest.

"You know where the bathroom is."

Picking the comb from his lap, Luke stood up and walked towards the bathroom. Not without shoving Jess upside the head as he walked passed him.

"Abusive I tell you!" Jess bellowed.

"Mom will be down in a-" Rory said coming down the stairs as she noticed Luke had turned into Jess. "Where's Luke?"

"Bathroom."

"Did you tell him to take off-"

"-His stupid hat? Yeah. I did," Jess finished.

Rory smiled and patted him on his head. "Good boy," she praised.

He quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her squealing form onto his lap. Unable to free herself from the hold he had around her waist, she settled into him, letting her legs dangle off the side of the arm rest.

"Will you be keeping me company tonight?" Rory asked.

"Nope. And if Luke and your mom decide to keep seeing each other, I'll most likely be stuck at the diner, leaving you home _all_ _alone_."

Rory pouted. "Maybe this whole 'my mom and Luke dating' thing isn't such a great idea after all."

His lips brushed against her ear and whispered huskily into it, "I'll close early tonight. You could stop by."

"I may have made other plans by then." She joked.

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded playfully.

Lorelai slowly emerged from the top of the stairs. At the same moment, Luke walked towards the living room. As she neared the bottom of the last couple steps, she saw Luke. And Luke saw Lorelai…

The house was ridiculously quiet for what seemed like hours to Jess and he felt the urge to remedy that…

Rory's hand flew over Jess' open mouth, covering it before a smart remark left his lips. He and Rory watched the two unable to speak much less tear their eyes away from the other. It was sweet.

Rory had to admit, she was a proud daughter. Her mother snapped out of whatever trance she was stuck in and returned to her normal confident self. The smile said it all. Her mother had the most beautiful confident smile. And it made Luke melt.

"Hi Luke."

"Lorelai. You look… you look nice." Luke stammered. _Nice_ wasn't the word he wanted to use.

The sound of a snicker from his nephew reminded him that they weren't alone. Only seconds later he heard his very nephew mutter an irritated 'ow'. He offered Rory a smile of thanks for reprimanding Jess for him.

"I mean you look… you look very… pretty." _Pretty_ wasn't the word he wanted to use either.

"Ow!" Jess said loudly, interrupting any kind of moment Luke and Lorelai were having.

Feeling all eyes on him, Jess did the only thing that came to mind.

"Ow! Jess!" His girlfriend yelped at the stinging pain he so graciously inflicted on her side. Yep… he pinched her. _What of it?!_

"Hey guys. Could you keep it down? You're kinda ruining the moment here." Lorelai said smiling tightly at the two teenagers. "Thanks."

"Right." Rory said glaring at a smirking Jess. "We're sorry. Continue."

Lorelai reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in front of Luke, her drop dead gorgeous smile still in place.

Luke actually felt self-conscious as her eyes traveled up and down his body like a piece of meat.

_Sexay_

Her blue eyes focused on the left pocket of his slacks.

"Just couldn't leave home without it huh?" She teased, plucking the hat out of his pocket.

"Give that back." He said snatching it out of her hands and stuffed it back in his pocket.

"Yeah 'cuz that's real sexy." Lorelai deadpanned.

Finally. They were back to their normal selves.

"I brought you flowers." Luke remembered, motioning to the coffee table.

"Aw, Luke…" she paused, picking up the bouquet of pink tulips, "They're beautiful. Thank you."

Luke nodded slightly, "It's nothing."

"Don't be silly. That was very thoughtful of you. You really now how to charm a girl." Lorelai grinned.

Luke rolled his eyes.

"I'm gonna put them in a vase right now." Lorelai headed to the kitchen, leaving Luke alone with two smirking teens.

"Shut up Jess."

Jess' eyes widened and he shrugged, pretending to be innocent. "What? I didn't say anything."

"Just shut up."

"But-"

"I mean it Jess… you too Rory."

The two teens continued to smirk.

"Okay," Lorelai said as she walked back into the living room, "shall we go?"

"Let's go." Luke agreed.

"Wait. Just…" Again she pulled the hat out of his pocket and threw it to Rory. Before he could protest, "It'll be fine Luke. Charlie's in good hands. Rory will take good care of him. Right Rory?"

Rory nodded, catching the hat, and started petting it.

"Your mom named Luke's baseball cap." Jess said when he finally figured out what the hell Charlie was.

"She names all inanimate objects." Rory said, placing the beloved hat carefully on the coffee table.

"Huh."

"Bye guys." Lorelai said pushing Luke in the direction of the front door.

"Oh yeah. Almost forgot." Luke stopped, turning to Jess. "You've got the rest of the night off. It was pretty slow when I left. Caesar should be able to close by himself."

Jess nodded containing any emotions he might have. Lorelai on the other hand showed how she felt. He didn't miss it either.

"We'll be back as soon as we can." Lorelai managed to say before she closed the front door.

"Yeah she's subtle." Jess muttered. "**Ow**. Rory! Enough with the pinching!" Jess spat out, getting really annoyed.

"That was for pinching me!"

"Hey you pinched me first!"

He stood lifting her up with him, walking over to the couch and playfully dropped her.

"Hey!" She cried.

He walked into the kitchen paying no attention to her.

"Jerk!"

"Love you too."

She met him in the kitchen and watched him search the fridge for something edible. He should've known he'd find nothing but spoiled leftover takeout. Closing the door to the fridge, he entwined his girlfriend's hand with his and led her out of the house.

"Where are we going?" She questioned.

"Shhh."

Rory smiled, happy with the idea of spending the rest of the night with Jess when she previously thought she would be alone-ing it tonight.

She rested her head on his shoulder as they walked to wherever Jess led them.

**..…'.' Doosie's Market - Night '.' …..**

"What do you feel like eating tonight?" Jess asked once they entered the market.

"You mean real food or junk food?"

"Real food."

"How 'bout ramen noodles?"

"You're kidding right?"

"You said real food."

Jess rolls his eyes. "Wait here."

Jess grabbed a basket and went down the aisles that had the ingredients he needed. Rory waited by the check-out counter, occupying herself by reading the tabloids.

After Jess gathered all that he needed they stood in line to check out. He noticed Rory's confused stare at the contents of his basket. Her eyes reached his and he knew what was coming next.

"Aww, Jess… you're cooking for me?"

"Shh."

She slipped her arm through his, locking him to her, and kissed his cheek.

…

Once in the house, Jess deposited the bag of groceries onto the kitchen table. Arms folded, he stared at Rory, who made herself comfortable by taking a seat.

"Out." He ordered, pointing in the direction of the living room.

"But I wanna-," she started to protest.

Jess silenced her when he stressed the direction of the living room once more.

Crossing her own arms, she stalked out of the kitchen. She grabbed the phone and the remote before she made herself comfortable on the couch. Agonizing minutes passed and she still couldn't find one thing to watch. She turned the television off and stared at the phone, thinking of someone to call.

"Hey Lane."

"Rory? Hey!"

"Whatcha doin'?"

"What I always do on Saturday nights. Daydreaming about Dave. You?"

"Waiting…"

"For…"

"Jess to finish."

"Finish what?"

"Cooking."

"Jess is cooking for you?"

"Yep." Rory smiled.

"Aw that's so cute."

"Yeah… It is isn't it?"

…

Knowing the Gilmore way of life, Jess checked out the oven before he preheated it, prepared to see anything that shouldn't be in the oven. It was a good thing he did because as suspected he found a shoe box with actual shoes in it and a kid's Delftone's t-shirt. _Wait a second…what the hell?_

****

**..…'.' A Little While Later '.' …..**

"Jess? Are you finished yet? I'm hungry." Rory called out from her lazy position on the couch, rubbing her stomach. The smell of lasagna woke her from her nap. Not to mention the grumbling of her stomach.

"Yeah just about."

A few minutes later, he came into the living room and stood before her.

"Take your shirt off." Jess said simply.

Completely surprised by what he was requesting, she had to blink a couple of times and make sure she heard him right, "Excuse me?"

"Take your shirt off."

"What?" Apparently, she still couldn't believe her ears.

"Take. Your. Shirt. Off." He repeated for the third time, only this time stressing every word.

Rory thought this was something new. She couldn't deny that it excited her in a _diirty_ way... But her grumbling stomach was unrelenting.

"Jess," she practically purred, "How about we eat first? I'm starving."

Jess raised his brows in amazement. "I want you to try something on for me." With that certain sly glint in his eyes, she realized it could only mean one thing...

_Shit._

He found the stupid shirt.

_Shitshitshit_

The scared guilty look on her face earned a laugh from her boyfriend.

"I'm not mad."

"You're not?" Rory asked, completely taken aback.

"Nope."

"It really isn't my fault. My mom did it." She said childishly placing blame.

"I'm just curious as to why you have my shirt in the first place… I know I never left it here."

_Shit._

"I took it."

"You _took_ it."

"It helps me sleep better." She explained simply.

Jess wasn't expecting that. Not at all. He figured she just really liked the damn shirt and stole it.

"It helps you sleep better?"

"You're scent… I just… I found out that I sleep ten times better with it," she blushed, she was actually telling him. "Stop smirking. It's very ugly on you," she lied, pouting at the fact that she was found out.

"You always said it was sexy." He said it so seriously and he looked so offended. It made her laugh.

"You are taking way too much pleasure in my embarrassment."

"I am aren't I?" He paused. "What other dirty secrets are you hiding from me?"

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes at him and headed towards the kitchen.

He grabbed hold of her from behind in a bear hug, pushing his body against hers, invading as much of her personal space as he could as they walked towards the kitchen. "Seriously." He swept her hair to the side, revealing the pale skin of her neck and rested his mouth against her bare skin and mumbled, "I'd like to know."

She had to remember to breathe…

She shrugged away from his grasp, not really wanting to, but needing to.

"Leave me alone," she groaned and sat down at the table. She hid under her arms, hoping against hope that he would stop teasing her… or for that matter making her unbearably aroused.

Thankfully he left her alone. Physically. When she looked up to see what he was doing, he was already taking two plates out of the cupboard and setting them down next to the lasagna on the stove.

"My toothbrush is missing. Care to explain?" He ragged, his back turned to her, missing her stick her tongue out at him.

"I hate you," she spat out playfully, glaring at his backside as he cut a piece of the lasagna and set it on a plate for her.

"Here." He placed the plate of piping hot yummy homemade lasagna in front of her. "Eat up."

"Mmmm. Smells sooo good." Any thought about being embarrassed or worked up all gone with one whiff. Gilmore's were easy that way.

"I'll save a piece for you to sleep with." He teased, licking the meat sauce off his fingers.

"That is the last comment you are allowed to make about that particular subject for the rest of our lives. Understood?"

He smirked, sitting down in the seat next to her with his own plate of lasagna and stared at her.

"The rest of our lives?" He asked, curious.

"What?" Puzzled, she looked up from her plate. Suddenly realizing the implication of what she said. Her face grew warm.

"You said for the rest of our lives." He pointed out.

"Yeah so?" So much trying to look unfazed. Her cheeks screamed embarrassed.

"You plan on being with me years from now?"

"I didn't mean… I meant... I was just saying," she paused, to figure out what the hell she wanted to say, "Well… yeah… I do." She admitted truthfully. "Don't you?" All of a sudden she felt a pang of hurt within her.

He looked straight into her eyes, not letting on that he was doing back flips in his mind. So this is where their relationship becomes real and serious. This is where they talk about the future. Them and the future. The future with them together. As a couple. In a monogamous relationship…

_Huh. Monogamous. _

Suddenly, he was no longer doing back flips.

"Jess?"

"Huh?" He mumbled, coming out of his thoughts.

He was thinking a little too long making Rory feel very uncomfortable.

_It took him that long to decide whether or not he saw a future with her?_

"You don't do you?" She stood up.

"Rory-"

"So what am I to you?" God this hurt. Make way for the tears…

Jess sighed. "Don't do this Ro-"

"Tell me. Am I just a girl to pass the time with before you get bored or before you find someone who actually puts out-"

"What?" He asked in disbelief. _Is that what she thinks of him?_ "You did not just say that." He exclaimed, truly offended.

The chair screeched loudly as he slid away from the table to stand up too.

"You know I'm not just about having sex." Jess said firmly.

Rory looked down, losing her momentum. She was a little ashamed she said that. Just a little. She was really angry… and upset…

_He didn't see a future with her…_

She sat down, staring down at her hands folded on her lap.

"Rory…" She looked sad. "Look at me." Jess sat back down too.

She sniffled the beginnings of hurt away, wiping the water away from her eyes before they dropped down her cheeks in tears. She hated crying in front of him. It felt so girly and stupid. But damnit, it hurt!

"Not gonna look at me huh?" She closed her eyes. "Okay." He reached over wedging his hand in-between her unwelcome ones. "So Rory Gilmore sees a future with me in it...." Just saying that out loud scared the shit out of him and made him want to do back flips all at the same time.

"I changed my mind. I don't anymore." She lied helplessly, pushing his hand away and crossing her arms.

Jess silently swallowed. "I can see myself with you… five years from now," he declared.

She opened her eyes to meet his. "You're lying. You're just saying that to make me feel better."

Jess wanted to pull his hair out. Girls were funny that way. You lie to them and they know it. You tell them the truth yet you're still lying. He knows for his own sake that he has to choose his words wisely or else the whole argument would blow way out of proportion.

He chose to pretend he didn't hear what she said. "I've been thinking about it a lot actually."

She looked at him suddenly, trying to read him. To see if he was telling the truth. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but from that one look in his chocolate eyes, she knew he was being sincere.

"Really?" Her voice was soft. "You really see us together five years from now?

He nodded. "I want to be with you… as long as you'll have me."

She felt her body tingle and she wanted to smile and kiss and hug the living daylights out of him. It was rare to hear Jess say things like that to her. And she learned that there was only one way to respond to him. Instead of smiling, she smirked. It wasn't cruel or harsh. That was just how they worked. Mush equals mock. When their conversation got too serious they learned to joke, joke and joke again. They both didn't do serious well…

"Wow."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"That was a really great line."

He rolled his eyes at her teasing and pounded his forehead against the edge of the table. Once, twice, thre- his head hit her hand. He slumped back in his chair and before he knew it Rory crawled into his lap with the goofiest smirk of all time. She was happy again and this is how he always wants to see her.

"Say it again." She teased.

"Continue to mock and see what happens."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his chest, balling herself into a child.

"You're way too old to be doing this." Jess pointed out.

"Carry me to my room." She said lazily.

His heart skipped a beat. He wished she would stop doing that… _well not really_…

Dipping his head closer to hers, he whispered, "As you wish."

Once they were inside her bedroom, with Jess already feasting on her lips, he carefully laid her down on the bed. The full weight of his body against hers only fed her heat.

Control. Where was the control? Didn't they say that this wasn't ever going to happen again? In this house, that is.

The sound of a car pulling up in front of the Gilmore home along with a flash of light lighting the room caused the two to hesitantly pull away. Jess lifted himself off of her and lay beside her. His lips gently brushed against her shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said, reluctant to leave her.

She rolled onto her side, her hand reaching across his stomach preventing him from getting up. He looked down at her, wondering why she wouldn't let him go. She pushed her body upwards, softly kissing him on the lips. "Meet me later?" She said softly, her eyes staring straight into his.

His brows raised in confusion. "What?"

"The shed… behind the Inn… I heard you've been spending some time there."

"How-"

"My mom. She said she saw you one night 'loitering behind the Inn'. She followed you. Said something about you redecorating the place?" Her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her bedroom and she could clearly see his face. "There's a bed, right?"

His heart stopped completely.

**..…'.' '.' …..**

**A/N: **As you all should know by now, I am a compulsive liar. My last A/N promised a pool party of some sort … yeah… didn't make the final cut… Stay tuned though… _enticing_, oh I mean, _exciting_ things are underway…

Hugs and smooches to everyone who reviewed and extra hugs and smooches to those of you who reviewed again to give me that added push to update. Look! It worked! No need for a reenactment of Misery! =D

**Cinn: **_Boys and Their Toys_** – **Been adoring it since its birth at the fic exchange… oh and your secret is safe with me ;)

Feed my pet Review by pressing the Go button before you leave… it loves words…


	27. The Quiet Storm

** These Are Days **

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** _Strong_ R – _No adultie. No readie_.

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing.

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was mean to me. For **_SarahMariano_**, **_Marissa, someone,_**_ **des06 **_– just cause ;p.

…

…

**..…'.' '.' …..**

As time seemingly paused after the few words and gestures exchanged between them, Jess imagined her turning on her side, reaching into the nightstand drawer to retrieve her infamous Pro and Con List appropriately entitled 'Sex With Jess'. He pictured her eagerly getting up to flip the lights on, flopping back down on the bed in an Indian style position, seriousness written all over her face and then with the doe look of her blue eyes into his she'd ask him if he had anything to add to the list.

_He could just as easily fill up the pro side._

If there wasn't this absurd silence between them he'd tell her what he was envisioning, make her crack and confess to actually having a real-life 'Sex With Jess' Pro and Con List to which he would gladly tease her on it.

His thoughts quickly dispersed when he felt the bed shake a little and in a flash he saw her already turned on her side. For a split second he thought his trip was really happening, but she didn't follow the script beyond that. Standing like a dark shadow before him, she extended her hand, offering him a lift up from her bed.

His eyes fixed on her silhouette as she led them out of her unlit bedroom, soundlessly letting an involuntary exhale slip out of his mouth to relieve some of the unlikely anxiety that started to mount. His face remained emotionless, not letting on to the pure male instinctive thoughts that coursed through his veins painting picturesque pictures in his mind's canvas. His primal thoughts inescapable, they invaded with such potency, different from other times before and it was with the simple yet complex notion of him getting _laid_. Indisputably a piggish thought, but there it was. Soon he'd be having sex with Rory. _And_ after that he'd be able to have sex with her again… and again… and _again_.

The two stood dumbly before the dinner table, staring at the two plates of untouched lasagna.

She pulled on her shirt sleeves, tucking the ends of them into her palms.

He shoved his hands into his pant's pockets.

She tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear then chanced a look at him from the side. "Why don't you stay and finish your lasagna?" She offered, gesturing toward the food, finally breaking the discomfited silence.

He nodded though a bit unsure. Part of him wanted to leave, to get blast of fresh air, but whatever.

"You want me to reheat yours for you?" He inquired, already picking up her plate.

She gave him the go-ahead and quietly sat down, watching his every move. Her mind began to wander. Jess showed his affection to her in the most simplistic of ways and it always left her wanting more. The way he touches the small of her back or reaches for her hand when they walk down the street, the way he sneaks a peek at her with those sexy brown eyes of his when they're reading, the way he offers her a silly crooked smile when he sees her eating in the diner, the way he stops by her bedroom window unexpectedly in the middle of the night to get one last kiss… This boy did it for her. Hell, just the way he walked over to the microwave- sent her through the roof! But that's an entirely different subject.

He looked a bit tense, possibly anxious and she found it entertaining to see him fidget, not knowing what to do with his hands as he waited for her food to finish.

He settled in crossing his arms.

She was curious to know what was going on in his head.

He could say that their relationship was pretty strong so far… couldn't he? They had withstood the opinion of the most important person in her life. Rory had already had the talk with her mom and obviously Lorelai didn't say anything to deter her decision to have sex with him. So what could possibly go wrong? Absolutely nothing… right? Right.

At the sound of the beep, he pulled the plate of lasagna out of the microwave and in turning around he found Rory smack in front of him, pushing _his_ plate of lasagna to him, silently telling him to switch so he could reheat his own.

As they exchanged plates, neither let go. Her eyes locked his gaze for a moment then leaned in giving him a slow kiss. He seemed to be thinking too much and she wanted to remind him that she wanted this. With a quick turn of her heel she turned back to the table and started to eat her lasagna, leaving a smirking Jess to his own NC17 thoughts of what he would do to her right this very moment.

"Didn't we hear Luke's truck pull up?" She asked, unknowingly pulling him back to the here-and-now before he got lost in the sea of potential sex with Rory.

Remembering that he was still in the presence of his girlfriend, he pushed those thoughts away, tucking them in that special corner of his brain for easy access later.

"Yeah, we did."

Rory looked in the direction of the small hall that led towards the front door. "I wonder why they haven't come in yet."

**..…'.' Gilmore Home – Outside '.' …..**

Strong gusts of wind blew all around Stars Hollow, reaching the home of Lorelai Gilmore. The surrounding trees, wide in variety, rustled - unwilling leaves stripped from their home, scattering about to their demise. The smell of crisp dry air held a hanging scent of rain. Snow wasn't the only weather Lorelai had the craft to sniff out, she could smell rain too. Both she and Luke stood on the porch taking in the magnificence of it all. The earth rumbling almost angrily, pounding the darkening skies. Booms. Crackles. All signaling a storm brewing in the distance ready to drench the tiny town.

Lorelai snuggled deeper into her shawl, hugging herself.

"I love thunderstorms," she declared.

Hands in his pockets, Luke felt so relaxed… always so relaxed around her. "I always pegged you for a fraddycat."

"Nah... only when I'm alone."

Lorelai motioned toward the porch swing behind her. "Wanna sit?" Secretly, she didn't want the date to end.

Luke nodded, unintentionally sitting very close to her, their shoulders touched instantly warming big heart.

Slowly she started to sway the swing. Turning to face him, she stared into his eyes, waiting for him to do the same.

"Something wrong?" He asked her, she was looking entirely too serious.

She shook her head quickly, breaking their gaze as she stared at her hands.

"Just wondering why it took us so long." Her eyes wandered back into his and saw him smile.

"You were always attached to someone."

"Yeah, the timing was never right," she agreed. "Hey." She nudged her shoulder to his. "You were the quintessential date tonight. You kept me well entertained. A very difficult thing to do for three straight hours."

His face broke into a scowl. "For the record, that waiter **was not** checking me out Lorelai."

She broke into a fit of laughs. "He was so!"

"He was not!"

"It's okay Luke. You're a handsome guy. And some men can't be blind to it either my friend."

He glared at her.

"Sorry, stopping now." She paused, "I had a great time though… seriously Luke. I'm really glad we did this."

"Me too… and I think we should do this again… soon."

"Soon," she said, agreeing.

"Like tomorrow."

She smiled big. "Wow Luke. That _is_ soon."

He shrugged. "I wanna make up for lost time."

"Okay… tomorrow." She approved. Her eyes were brighter and happier than they've been in a while. "I say you cook for me."

"I always cook for you."

"I know. But I mean at my place or… _your_ place. You could make something that you've never made me before… Like _Chinese_ food."

"Chinese food. You want _me_ to make you Chinese food?"

"Uh huh. And I only like my Chinese food one way."

"One way?"

"Gotta have a minimum of six different dishes to sample from. I've been feeling especially shrimpy lately."

"So you want six entirely different entrees consisting of shrimp."

"Uh huh," she said as though it was simple task, "Oh and egg rolls. Can't forget the egg rolls."

"Is Jess and Rory planning on stopping by?"

"No, why?" She asked innocently.

"It just seems like a lot of food for only two people to be eating."

"That's what the cute little to-go boxes are for. And, they don't take much room in the fridge either. Get with it Luke."

"And where do you suppose I get these so-called 'cute little to-go boxes' from?"

They both sat in complete silence for a good minute.

"Maybe-" Luke started.

"Yeah- we should-" Lorelai continued.

"-just…" Luke filled in.

"Take out from Al's." They both ended in union.

"Good idea."

"Kay. It's settled then." A thought occurred to her. "Rory and Jess are so not going to like this whole dating thing."

They both laughed.

_…_

Jess had left right after they finished washing their dishes. He went out the back door so as not to disturb Luke and Lorelai. Rory's bright idea of course. Sometime during their meal Rory had grabbed him by the arm while his fork full of lasagna was on its way to his mouth and unwillingly he became her accomplice as she spied on them through the window.

_…_

**..…'.' Gilmore Home – Inside – Twenty Minutes Later '.' …..**

Lorelai smiled when she saw her daughter asleep on the sofa. She carefully sat down next to her, kicked her heels off, and crossed her legs at the ankles, resting them on the coffee table. She moved closer to her, putting an arm around her and leaned her head against hers.

Rory stirred.

"Hey." Lorelai whispered and Rory instinctively snuggled into her mother's warm embrace, sharing her blanket.

"What's the verdict?" Rory asked. Eyes half open.

"It was perfect."

"Did you kiiiiss?"

Lorelai gushed. "Yesss."

"Was it good?"

"He gave me the tingles."

Rory embraced her mother's arm tighter. "I'm glad."

"Me too kid."

…

After about an hour after Lorelai fell asleep, she awoke nudging Rory. "More comfortable to sleep in your bed it is."

"Since when did we start speaking Yodish?" Rory was already standing, dragging her mother up by her arm.

"Speak Yodish from this point on, we will. Hmmm."

"Oi," Rory sighed. "To sleep, we go." Rory pushed her mother up the first stair.

"Uh…tomorrow we-… wait no- umm…"

"Yeah that was short-lived. Night," with one last encouraging push up the second stair, her mother continued on her own.

"Night hun."

The two parted ways at the stairway. But Rory lingered a little longer in the dark foyer to hear her mother's door close before she went into the bathroom to freshen up.

In her bedroom, the lights were off. She sat in her chair, hugging her knees into her chest and stared at the alarm clock waiting for it to read midnight. And when it eventually did, she quietly walked out of her room and left through the front door.

Once outside, she noticed that it was drizzling, but she didn't feel like going back inside to play hide-and-seek with an umbrella. Plus the risk of getting caught wasn't so appealing either. Anyhow, the Inn wasn't too far a walk.

Nerves started to gnaw at her, so much so she even turned to go back home. She could tell Jess that she accidentally fell asleep, or that her mom insisted on sleeping in her bed to talk about her date with Luke. **_NO_.** She was not going to cop out. Determination in her eyes, she turned around and set out in the direction of the Inn once again. As she walked faster the rain well... fell faster too. Water seeped into her clothes. Into her hair. Into her skin. It made her glisten when light from the lamp posts around town shone on her…

Thunder clashed above her, her flip-flops pounded against the pavement below her… both sounds making her heart beat two notches faster as panic entered her blood stream.

It was only a matter of seconds before she broke into an easy sprint.

_Almost there_…

She quickly grew tired of sprinting, even though it was a pretty short sprint (Gilmore's weren't so inclined to put their bodies to work, even under harsh conditions). She started to walk again once she hit the grounds of the Inn. In her defense, it took more energy to run across grass.

But all too soon… there it was… the tiny shed_… with a boy waiting inside…_

Rory knocked lightly on the shed door, wishing the pounding of her heart against her rib cage would calm the fuck down.

She's wanted this. She's wanted this for a while, but was too much of a wuss to do the deed.

_Oh god… the deed?_ _Who the hell says the deed? Dorks like her did, that's who…_

Before she could finish her inner monologue, Jess appeared from behind the door.

"You came." He said, stating the obvious, purely out of discomfort, though the calmness in his voice hid the fact that he was a tad nervous about the whole shed thing.

Rory slowly inhaled then gently smiled at him, "I came," also stating the obvious, also purely out of discomfort.

"Wasn't sure if you were still comin'- the rain…," leaning against the door, he immediately stopped talking and encouraged her inside _out_ of the rain.

Subtly, Rory glanced around the Inn grounds to see if anyone was out there. If anyone saw her. There was no one in sight. Everyone was asleep, nestled in their cozy beds… asleep. But here she was… sneaking into a shed _with a boy…_to have _sex_…

The sound of Jess closing the door behind her signaled a big fat GO in her head. And go she did… She took Jess by surprise, letting her lips cover his in a warm, heady kiss.

One second he was closing the door and the next she was pushing him against it, her once delicate fingers now forceful and commanding against his face. The heavy crush of her lips made his mind draw a blank. Her kiss hard and wanting and he could only return the favor threefold.

The feel of her skin was cold against his as his hands slid up and down her arms. He faintly remembered feeling her goose bumps.

"You're cold," he mumbled against her damp lips.

"Very cold," she mumbled too, the beginnings of a shiver uncontrollably taking over her body.

He pulled away slightly, getting a better look at her. His eyes voiced concern.

"You're soaked." How he didn't notice before was beyond him at this point.

"Yeah, well… rain will sometimes do that to you."

Without a second thought he pulled his shirt over his head and offered it to her.

She took it from him, their fingers brushing shyly against the other.

And then his back was to her…

"Your shirt's soaked… you should take it off and put mine on."

She stared at his shirt and then at his bare back. Without a sound she set his shirt down on the bed then grabbed the ends of her own shirt- clingy, wet and cold. She pulled it over her head, accidentally brushing the soaked fabric against his unclothed back. The sound of him take a sharp intake of breath startled her. Why was she so damn jumpy!

"Sorry," she giggled slightly. Nervousness always made her giggle.

He was so close… his heat radiating against her skin, almost warming her.

She laid her own shirt flat on the small table she found beside her. It looked very familiar. The table did. Looking around some more she noticed more familiar things from her childhood, not to mention a few very used candles flickering at different ends of the room, struggling to light the dark small space. Memories flooded her mind of times long ago when she was just a little girl… living in this very shed…

"You use scented candles?" She teased.

He grinned a little. "Two-for-one sale at Doose's."

She took one step forward. And that was all it took to be flush against his warm body. Another sharp gasp was heard. Her cold skin, cold hands - fingers settled at his sides, at the bare skin just above his jeans and boxers. They hung low and she loved and could very well appreciate the sight of his beautiful male form. The slight curve of his hips. The nice butt that only she knows is hidden beneath those baggy pants he wore. She hasn't exactly laid eyes on his bare bum, but it sure felt nice when her palms pressed up against it.

Quietly, she slipped out of her flip-flops and pushed them aside with her foot. Standing on her tippy-toes, she slowly moved upwards, deliberately sliding against his body. And with no particular order of importance, she began to kiss his neck shoulders and back and every so often with the flick of her tongue she would taste him … her hands feeling over every dip and inch of his him.

Her kisses were agonizingly slow and torturous. Her hands so curious and soft. Her body again flush against his own. The faint thump of her heart beat drummed in rhythm with his.

He wanted her to feel how she was making him feel… and he was certainly not a greedy person when it comes to her.

Slowly he turned to her, instantly cradling her face in his warm soft hands. His kiss was tender and sweet and her hands began to explore again. She was warm now, well her hands anyway, he could feel it. They traveled up his abdomen, parting once they reached his chest. Jess' breath hitched yet again when her fingers swept over his chest, over his flat nipples.

He paused, breaking the kiss he started. He looked deep into her eyes and smiled. After placing a single painstaking kiss on her lips his eyes began to take the Rory tour. Damp lace and breasts, nipples tight from the cold. His hands traveled down meeting the place his eyes have landed and stayed. Thumbs brushed over the lace, over her nipples and his head dipped down in an opened mouthed kiss.

As she watched, her hands dug into his soft wavy hair, encouraging him further. Her mouth unknowingly opened. Somehow that made it easier… She closed her eyes having already learned that she felt more that way. His hands left their previous position and moved up to her shoulders. His lips soon followed. While he used his fingers to ease the straps of her bra to the edges of her shoulder, his lips tagged along, avidly sucking the moisture the rain had left on her skin.

In one swift movement, she was freed of lace. Shadows danced across her skin and his eyes couldn't find one spot to focus on. He settled comfortably into her eyes. His thumb brushed across her bottom lip, unconsciously causing her to slightly part her lips. Then quite scandalously, he felt her hot wet mouth take it in a gentle, yet erotic suckle.

His lust-filled eyes widened, making it abundantly clear to her that he fully enjoyed that.

His pulled his thumb out of her mouth and again brushed it over her bottom lip before he covered them with his own. He was slow at first, but both eagerly gave in as their kiss became fiery and out of control…

He backed them in the direction of the bed, mutually agreeing without words that they were both in need of something other than themselves to hold them up. They would've settled for the floor if it wasn't too cold and dingy. The two were dizzy with heated anticipation and excitement, intoxicated by a mix of lust and love. Nothing could break these two apart. To them, the world outside the small shed didn't exist.

Jess blindly sat down knowing the bed would catch him. She followed his lead and settled between his legs making damn sure their lips never parted. Her hands went straight to his chest… touching him, feeling him, listening to the rapid beat of his heart with the pads of her fingers, thinking hers must be beating to the same rhythm. She stopped their kissing frenzy for just a moment to find out how he was doing. She wanted to know… to _see_ if he was feeling the same thing she was feeling.

He looked at her questioningly, wondering if she changed her mind… _hoping_ she wouldn't change her mind.

His features have softened somewhat, no smirks to take speak of. With one glance he almost looks innocent… until you look deep into his eyes. They were darker than usual, but yet surprisingly trusting. Yes, he wants her, there's no doubt about it, but behind those lustful eyes of his she knows that he would be gentle with her.

She knelt on either side of his thighs in a rather seductive way. Jess would say that that was the exact moment he turned full-on hard. Her hair tickled his face and neck and she kissed him in a way that she never had before, precise with every movement in the kiss and he willingly surrendered. To say that she was turning him on was an understatement. And he had to admit he was a bit scared. _She was ready._ She knew it. He knew it. They both knew with unspoken words that tonight was going to be _the_ night.

His hands gripped the sides of her hips, guiding her towards him, seeking some kind of relief, some kind of pressure or rubbing. He demanded to feel her against him, wanting to show her exactly what kind of effect she was having on him.

The initial feel of his arousal wasn't too surprising. This wasn't the first time or the second or the third time for that matter. She's felt just how aroused he could get countless times on countless occasions. And just as it had the other times, her arousal grew intense with the particular contact.

She drove him to and over the edge- grinding into him rhythmically, teasing and taunting him. Jess had to use every fiber of his body to fight the male urge to rip her jeans off and fuck the living day lights out of her… but he knew better of course.

He slipped his hands down to her bare stomach, kneading the skin at her sides and abdomen, seemingly not able to get enough of her. The intensity of his touch was rough and beautiful. She knew she could give herself entirely to him and she'd be safe with him. And she did just that… she finally let herself go…

They're lips connected again, making up for the momentary loss of contact. His hands held either side of her face, kissing her deeper… the deepest that was possible. Somehow she tasted sweeter, sweeter than before. His hands slid to the base of her head, his fingers drowning in her soft hair, taking a hand of it every now and then… releasing tension.

Insane. She was driving him insane. Her grinding… _when had she become such an expert? _She had perfected her movements having practiced almost every time they made-out. She knew exactly what he liked and how he liked it and it got to the point where he actually couldn't take it anymore.

He grabbed her rear, pushing her into him one last time before stopping her delicious movements altogether. They looked at each other dead in the eyes. She understood and smiled. It was a not-so-innocent smile too… almost _daring_.

She thrust against him intentionally.

His eyes widened. She had the audacity to make him want to come so soon.

"_Don't_." He ordered somewhat helplessly.

She blushed redder than she already was. She didn't understand why she chose now to be so shy.

He went back to kissing her, still holding her to him, not allowing her any kind of movement. When he felt that she would keep still on her own and his heightened arousal lessened to where he was in control again, he released his grip on her.

"Not funny." He mumbled against her lips.

She smirked. It was the most erotic smirk that Jess had ever seen on his innocent girlfriend. _He liked that smirk_. _He wanted to see more of that smirk._

He journeyed down to her neck, making sure that every inch wasn't missed by his lips.

Her hands roamed delectably over his torso. He was hot under her touch and for some inane reason she wanted to know who was hotter.

They're lips met again. He played with her belt buckle, unlocking its hold over her. The button quickly unbuttoned and the zipper quickly unzipped. His hands slipped inside her jeans, sliding it off her rear. She stood up, letting him remove it completely and then took her previously position on him again.

But he wasn't done yet and insisted that she stand again.

They never took their eyes off each other when he reached between her legs. Needless to say… her panties were _soaked through_. His jeans now _super_ unbearably tight with this new treasure. He let out a deep pleased groan, telling her that he loved finding her so wet. His hand snuck inside the swatch of her panties, making her squirm into them as he slid between her folds finding and rubbing her aroused crucial point.

"_Jess_…" She breathed, pushing into his touch.

…

They both undid his jeans and removed his boxers, making them both naked before each other. His eyes roamed freely over her blushing body. She was just as exquisite as he had imagined her to be. There were many nights that he'd fantasize about this very moment and none of them would ever come close to having Rory here… before him… in the naked flesh.

He kissed her gently this time… rather lovingly.

His fingers reached her center once again, easily slipping a finger inside, making her beg for release, but it never came…

"_Jess_…" She called out, her voice clearly that of yearning.

He smirked and she could tell that he was enjoying his new found hold over her a little _too_ much.

"_Wait_." He encouraged quietly.

He laid her down on the bed, kissing her on the lips for some time before he kissed every inch of her body… and before he went down on her.

She had come to a conclusion: Jess was a teaser – a big huge teaser. The things he did… he wasn't even _there_ yet and he was already making her feel things she had never in her life experienced. His kisses, his suckles… he stumbled upon yet another pleasure spot… after his lips and tongue journeyed down her abdomen, played with her belly button, his lips tested out an unlikely place… he suckled every thing in the vicinity of her hipbone and the feeling tingled her spine, tingled her insides. It felt amazing, but then, when she didn't think it could bet any better than this… he was _there_…

This feeling was new to her, a definite first. He was so unashamedly talented. His finger… his _tongue_… Within minutes she writhed underneath him.

When the clouds finally cleared, she forced herself to open her eyes. She took hold of him, pulling him up so he lay beside her. He propped his head up with his elbow, letting her nestle her head in the crook of his arm as she held him close to her.

"You okay?" He whispered into her hair.

He felt her nod a yes.

He smoothed her hair and then lifted her chin to make her look at him. She could see the lust in his eyes and slowly her arousal increased yet again. He kissed her deeply once more only this time she could taste herself. Definitely weird, but strangely tantalizing.

"I _want_-" He whispered huskily in her ear, "-_inside_ you Rory."

She nodded slightly and pulled him into an open mouthed kiss.

He moved over her, settling between her legs, making sure she was comfortable first. His arousal slid between her moist folds, readying it for the journey inside. Her wetness coated him nicely and when she seemed to be enjoying this particular action so he continued to thrust outside of her. They had never went this far before. And Rory couldn't remember the reason why they hadn't. It felt fucking spectacular.

He slowly entered her, taking all the time she needed to adjust to him being inside her. He heard her say that it hurt, but knew from experience that it wouldn't be long before it got better for her. She felt a sharp blinding pain as he broke through. She didn't even know she was tearing until Jess had wiped her eyes.

"You-… you want me to stop?" He asked her gently, concerned.

"No… Yes. I mean… just stop for a minute."

"Okay."

Jess started to involuntarily quiver from the strain on his arms. They had stopped for _more_ than a minute and he was stuck in an awkward position, not wanting to move for Rory's sake.

Then unexpectedly she thrust up, sliding him deeper into her. And though the pain was still lingering with every thrust she initiated, the pleasure of him inside, pressing deliciously against a part of her that she had no idea existed, overpowered the pain. Drunk with bliss. Drunk with love. Drunk with Jess…

Slowly he started to move with her, her heat engulfing the whole of him. Her tightness lessened with every drive. Every guy loves the virgin tightness, but she was ungodly tight. It was almost suffocating at first. In the back of his mind, he wondered why he hadn't use two fingers earlier.

"_Ah_ s_hit_…" He muttered, slowing their movement to a complete halt. He kept as still as he possibly could. "I… fuuuck."

"What?"

"Don't move."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because I'm about to _come_ Rory."

Rory suppressed a smile, and being Rory, she _accidentally_... moved.

"Rory… shhit."

She felt him jerk inside of her with a wave of warmness in her belly and she froze. And she felt him do the same.

Her wide eyes danced around the shed, confused and amused at this strange predicament.

He didn't look at her. His face was still hiding, cuddling in the cranny of her neck. She could feel his lips curve into a smirk against her skin. She knew he was embarrassed and her tiny movements from desperately holding in a laugh weren't helping either.

He slowly lifted himself out and off of her and lay down beside her. His eyes stubbornly shut groping around for a pillow to cover his face with it.

_Was she supposed to say something first?_

Some time later, pulling the blanket up to cover herself, she turned on her side to watch him. For the longest, neither said a word.

"Jess? You asleep?" She tentatively ran a finger up and down his shoulder. Her lips turned up in a playful grin thinking a silly thought about how guys roll over and go to sleep. She wanted to ask him if he wanted a cigarette.

"No." In their long moment of silence, Jess' voice grew hoarse.

"You okay?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked stupidly.

"_You_ _know_ what? Don't humor me."

"It's okay… we could… try again another time."

"This was your first time. It shouldn't have been like this."

"Jess. I don't care about stupid stuff like that. It was still perfect. Everything was perfect. It will go in the books as perfect." She heard a muffled laugh. "Besides this was your first time too. I heard first times are always awkward."

Guilt bit into him at her words. _Besides this was your first time too. _

_God damn._

"Jess?"

"Yeah?" He muttered into the pillow.

She sensed something, but didn't know what exactly. He was being suspiciously quiet. She grabbed the pillow from his face so she could read his eyes and that's when it became abundantly clear to her.

They never talked about him sleeping with Shane.

"What?" He didn't like the way she was studying him. She can't read him. Why is she even trying?

"This is your first time right? I mean… you said that time with that girl in New York, you never fin-"

He could have easily had said yes, but something in him didn't want to lie to her. And that something could be attributed to the intimacy of the moment.

"I know my recent display would say otherwise, but-"

"But you said…" She didn't know her heart could actually break into a million pieces. "Oh god," it came out as a sad whisper, "Shane."

Slowly she started to back away from him and when he reached to stop her she quickly jerked away and stood up completely naked and vulnerable before him. But she didn't care.

Whatever possessed him to tell her this right now or at all was a complete mystery to him. Did sex with her make him want to tell her truths? Share stuff with her that he would never share with her under normal circumstances? _Why the hell did he tell her that? Dumbfuck!_

"Look lets just forget it. It's not important."

Flabbergasted, Rory grabbed his shirt and pulled it over her head. She stood up with her arms folded and glared at him. "**Not Important?**"

Jess sighed and sat up. "Rory, calm-"

"I'm sorry but _we_ are **not** forgetting this. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I _did_ tell you."

"_Before_ I slept with you."

"Why? Would it have made a difference?"

"Yes." She bit out quickly, not really meaning it. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Geez. It's not that big a deal." What _would_ make it a big deal was the fact that Shane wasn't his first either. More like his eighth if he remembered correctly.

Rory's eyes widened at his nerve. "It's not that big a deal? This is a _huge_ deal Jess."

"It's not like I was sleeping with her while we were going out."

"God it's not that! It- it's the principle of it!"

He reached for her again, seeing her backing away from him.

"No. Don't… touch me."

"Rory. Don't do this."

"_You_ did this." She started to frantically search the room for her undergarments.

Jess had no choice but to just sit back and watch and wait to see if this whole thing could blow over in five seconds.

"God. You were with her for like two seconds." She said almost talking to herself as she zipped up her jeans and slid her feet into her slippers.

Jess slipped on his boxers and sat at the edge of the bed with his head hanging limply in his hands.

Once she was completely dressed she stood before him with her arms crossed against her chest, wanting to comfort herself.

"How many times?"

His head shot up and he looked at her with confused eyes. "What?"

"How many times?"

"I- I don't know Rory." _How many times in one day? Is that what she was asking?_

"That many huh?" Boy did she look angry. "Jesus Jess. You were with her for what was it? Two weeks? And then you dumped her!"

"Rory-"

"You're a pig!"

"Ah Christ." _Did he really have to explain this to her? _"She wasn't my girlfriend Rory. She was just… there." Wow, he must've stuck a cord. He didn't like the new look on her face. An updated version of her withering stare and it wasn't pretty. _Would it help any if he told her he was picturing her the whole time? _

_Yep. Probably not._

"That makes it even worse. Were you fuck buddies or something?!"

Jess just stared up at her, wondering if there was any way out of this. Lies always found their way back to bite him in the ass.

_What did she want him to say?_

"So tell me, did you sleep with her that first day you went out with her."

Jess sighed heavily, guilty, though he said nothing.

She went for the door and he bolted up ready to go after her.

"Don't leave. Not like this," he pleaded. She never heard him sound so desperate.

She stopped momentarily, contemplating staying or leaving.

She decided to leave.

"Rory- it's pouring outside. You'll get sick."

"I don't want to be around you right now," she said quietly.

"Look… you stay here and… I'll leave."

Her back still at him, she stepped away from the door and focused on the falling rain outside the window, her mouth set in a straight line.

"Okay."

**..…'.' '.' …..**

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**A/N: **New toy! - Tickle Me Genevah… press Go button to sample!


	28. Better Together

**These Are Days**

**Author:** Genevah

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess

**Disclaimer:** I claim to own nothing.

**Summary:** Tweaked 'Teach Me Tonight' to my own likings. Warning. Insane amounts of fluff o'nutters in this story… please read with caution

**A/N: **Does anyone even remember this story? :0) Anyways, Happy Easter!

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**..…'.' '.' …..**

Jess eyed Rory closely as he slipped his shirt over his head. She stood next to the door (which incidentally was the farthest spot away from him) with her arms crossed and her stare fixed on a small lit candle in the corner. It wasn't a particularly _nice_ feeling to be on the receiving end of Rory's cold shoulder. In truth, he fucking hated the feeling.

He was fully dressed now as he stood silently, waiting… hoping she'd realize how ridiculous the argument had been and tell him to stay.

Before he knew it, he was standing before of her, mentally preparing his self for any type of reaction she'd bless him with – be it positive or negative. He silently begged her to show him some kind of emotion.

He was so intimately close, so close that she could feel his warm breath flit over her cheek. The sensation alone made her insides tingle despite their current situation.

He stared down at her, willing her to look at him, but she wouldn't give. Not even a little.

The anger and disappointment in her eyes were still fresh in his mind and he never thought he'd be so intimidated to touch her. Yet, he lightly palmed her elbow as if it was the most natural thing for him to do with her… because it _was_ the most natural thing for him to do with her. And to his surprise she hadn't pulled away from his touch.

His softened features and sad brown eyes would have melted her heart if only she had the decency to look at him when he whispered her name. But she shook her head once and closed her eyes and that was all it took to silence him completely.

She wanted him to leave – and so he did.

**..……..**

He chose not make a run for it for it seemed rather pointless because within two seconds of walking out the door he was drenched to the flesh with the weight of his clothes heavy against him, instantly consumed by the cold and stinging rain. The wind swirled around him, like a giant hand and carried his unwilling body away from the tiny shed… away from where he truly wanted to be which was back inside with her in his arms for as long as time would allow them.

But the rain seemed as unforgiving as Rory had just been.

It pounded on him and showed him no mercy.

**..……..**

Her emotions where consumed by anger and sadness to the point that it confused her. She couldn't seem to think straight. Bitterness swelled within her... at least for the part of him that made her hurt so much.

_What in the world just happened? _

She lied down on the tiny mattress after she kicked off her slippers for the second time that night and turned her body to rest on her side. It was a painful picture to see - One of teenage girl hugging her knees into her chest like a small sad child, staring blankly at the drops of rain as they collected on the small window. She watched mesmerized as it ran down the glass, her thoughts jumbled.

Vivid flashes of them being so intimate filled behind her now tightly closed eyelids, no longer able to ignore the lingering feel of him inside of her or the ache of wanting him next to her, holding her close to him. All things aside, her first time couldn't have been any more perfect.

It had all the makings of a perfect first time. It had been with a boy she was crazy in love with.

All rationale had left her with the thought of him with Shane together. Jealousy ripped her heart and before she knew it, she was doing and saying things she never would have if she was in the right state of mind.

Jealousy was an ugly _ugly_ thing.

The situation had gotten out of hand. She realizes that now. She over-reacted, she finally admitted to herself. She was being utterly stupid. It wasn't like he had cheated on her. He wasn't even _hers_. Who was she to claim him in such a way and then accuse him of things that she had no right to accuse him of?

He wasn't even hers! … (_at that time)_… for Christ's sake - she herself had a boyfriend.

He was allowed to have sex with whomever he pleased.

And so what if he wasn't a virgin. Did she really think-_believe_ that he could be? He was a 17 year old, aptly named 'bad boy' and from firsthand experience of his vast knowledge of ways to turn a girl inside out… she knew deep down that he was no virgin. No virgin could kiss like him. No virgin could touch like him. And no virgin could make her feel or bring her to edge like he did.

The boy was too skilled in mastering the art of knowing the female body to be a virgin.

But that was beside the point now, how could she send him out in the midst of a terrible storm?

**..……..**

As Jess neared the warmth and safe haven of the diner he stopped in the middle of the street, clearly not caring to go inside.

He stood frozen, letting the rain pelt away at every inch of his body, like he deserved to be punished or something. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but it somehow always turns out that way.

Jess nearly dropped down on the wooden panels that lined the inside of the gazebo. He lied down on his back. His normally crazy hair was straightened by the rainwater, stuck flat against his forehead. He stared off into the rain pouring around him then stared down at his pruning fingers, realizing that not only was he sopping wet but he was cold too. The numbness of the situation slowly wore off and his body succumbed to the human need to be warm.

He began to shiver.

He thought back to that night. The night they had fought about just moments ago. They were both sitting on her bed sharing their pasts with one another… in the act of getting to know the other… It started out as a stupid joke at first- telling her a far-out story of why he was a virgin. The not so funny thing though, she believed him. Her curious, innocent, and trusting eyes were staring _into_ him. She had believed him, apparently loving the idea that someone like him was still a virgin. He saw it in her eyes. And as insane as it may sound, he wanted her to believe it… a tiny piece of false information that made him good enough to be with someone like her. He wanted to be _that_ person… for her.

**...…..**

The rain had died down for some time. Rory had to get home before the town awoke and saw her sneaking home from her late night tryst with her boyfriend. If seen, her town would have had a field day with it. The questions and assumptions of why she was out at this hour would spread like wildfire, before she even slipped back into her own bed and had fallen asleep and dreamed about the boy who now owned the rights of being her first.

No one ever forgets their first.

She arrived home unseen and completely dry.

**...…..**

The night sky was in the middle of changing. All around Jess the darkness was subsiding revealing the rain's handiwork on the tiny storybook town. Morning had peaked through the dark clouds with the sun's rays straining to penetrate them. Birds hidden high atop the branches of trees and buildings chirped their morning song.

There was activity at the Kim's house across the street. Mrs. Kim was out in front, fully clothed in her modest pajamas with a robe tightly wrapped around her. Her intent was clear- to retrieve the soggy newspaper at the end of her driveway.

It was definitely time to go inside.

Luke's snoring greeted him when he stepped inside the apartment. He headed straight for the bathroom already removing his damp shirt and slinging it over the shower curtain rod. He did the same with his pants and boxers as well… Without a second thought he went to his room locking the door behind him and slipped under warmth of his blanket… completely naked with every care in the world heavy on his shoulders - his ruined relationship with Rory plaguing his every thought.

**..…'.' Gilmore Home '.' …..**

"Morning hun."

"Mom? You're up? It's early." Rory wondered how long her mother had been sitting at the kitchen table signing paychecks. _Did she have any inkling to her whereabouts in the wee hours of the morning?_

"I'm turning a new leaf." Lorelai declared.

"Is that so?" The younger Lorelai asked, pleased that she was in the clear. She took a seat across from her mother, wrapping her fuchsia robe around her.

"No more procrastinating for me. No-siree-bob. Procrastinating gets you nowhere. You're just stuck with wanting and waiting for something to happen and I'm not doing that anymore. I'm going to make things happen from now on."

"Oh yeah?" Rory asked, not completely believing her. After all, her mother wasn't known for following through on the ideas that would pop into her head out of nowhere.

"Luke and I waited so long to do this -whatever we're doing- and it was such a waste of time. Don't you think?" Rory nodded, agreeing with her. Then again, maybe her mother _was_ turning a new leaf. "I mean we had such a great time last night… such a great time. I mean I always knew there was something there… but I just never-"

Her mother was happy. So unbelievably happy that she could see it spill out into her features, pure joy radiating through her eyes. Rory found herself craving for that again.

"Honey, you look tired, did you not get a good night's sleep?" She asked, finally getting a good look at her.

"Wha- oh… yeah… the rain kept me up. But… so you and Luke?"

Lorelai grinned and Rory thought it was the most beautiful smile she had seen on her mother in a long while. "Me and Luke hun. I know it's waay too early to feel this way, but god-" she sighed blissfully, "I feel all school-marmy and excited." She got up and headed towards the front door. Rory followed. "I want to see him."

"Mom?" Rory said before her mother walked out of the house. "You're in your pj's."

Lorelai looked down at herself. "Hah. Would you look at that?" She smiled idiotically. "I'm just gonna run upstairs and put something more appropriate on."

"Uh-huh. Yeah, you go do that."

**..…'.' '.' …..**

Lorelai frowned when she saw Rory comfortably spread across the couch, her legs covered with a chenille throw and her arms tightly hugging her pillow as if it were her comfort bear from her childhood.

CNN was on the tube in the background.

"You're not coming?"

"And watch you openly flirt with Luke?" She smiled happily. "No thanks."

"Aw you're no fun. It's your loss. I was giving you the perfect opportunity for you to gather ammunition for which you could mock me with."

"Always thinking of others, thank you but I think I'll pass. I'm not feeling up to it right now. I think I'll stay here and catch up on the news."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Do you want me to send Jess over with some breakfast?"

Rory's eyes widened. "Nooo…Um… no that's okay-"

"You know he'd jump at the chance to be your delivery toy." She pretended to clear her throat. "I mean boy."

"Mom!"

"What? Come on Rory, I know he waits on baited breath for me to get out of this house so you two can-."

Rory's cheeks tinged at the implication. Her mother could be so incorrigible sometimes. She threw a pillow at her only to hit her on the shoulder.

Lorelai smirked and laughed. "You didn't let me finish… I was going to say so you two can _read_. God Rory, it's way to earlier to have your mind in the gutter." She teased then headed toward the front door. "I'll bring back Danishes!"

**..…'.' '.' …..**

Luke allowed Jess to sleep in that morning after they came to a compromise that left Jess closing the diner so he could take Lorelai out on their second date.

It was almost 3 o'clock when he finally got out of bed and readied himself for another day at diner duty.

It had been unusually busy that night… right up until closing. It kept him occupied for the most part, only giving him a few moments here and there to fully think about her.

He figured she wouldn't call or come into the diner tonight like she normally would. He knew better.

He almost called her… twice. Those two failed attempts left him placing the phone back into its cradle before pressing the last digit of her cell number.

The third attempt three hours later was a success… he at least let it ring until her voicemail picked up. He didn't leave her a message. He only left her with the '1 Missed Call' that would appear on her cell phone screen if she bothered to check it.

He so desperately wanted to throw these people out. It was about ten til 10 when the family of four with the sticky three year old decided it was time to go home. He had given them every hint available that would let them know that it was past closing time. He had swept the floors, refilled the shakers, wiped down the counters, turned off a few lights, and even tallied the register. Of course he could have told them to leave, but he didn't have the stomach to see the displeased look in their eyes.

He had just turned the sign from 'open' to 'closed' and turned off the remaining lights when he heard a soft knock on the door. He was almost at the start of the stairs that led up to the apartment. He was so ready for this day to be over.

He sighed loudly and walked back towards the front of the diner…

"We're clo-." He stopped mid-sentence when he saw her blue eyes through the slats of the blinds.

He hadn't expected her to make this move. It was certainly a surprise.

He opened the door just wide enough for him to fit through. He didn't completely step outside, just hovered at the opening with his hand still holding onto the door knob.

"Hey." He greeted her carefully.

"Hey." She looked at him with a somewhat baffled expression. He seemed very closed-off-ish. "Can I come in?"

"Depends."

She raised her eyebrows. "Depends on what?"

"Depends on what your intentions are."

"My intentions?"

"Yep."

"And what do you suppose my intentions are?"

"Well you're either here to make up or … break up with me." He hadn't really thought saying that last part would affect him as much, but as he heard the words leave his lips it left him with the most unsettling feeling in his stomach. He didn't really believe she would break up with him over this... right?

"Oh."

"So. Which is it?" Jess was the type of person who ripped his Band-Aids off. He didn't fuck around with pain. If it was imminent, why prolong it.

She looked him straight in the eyes, those beautiful espresso colored eyes. _Silly boy_. "I'm not breaking up with you."

Relief showed in his eyes for the briefest of seconds before he could hide it and it made her heart skip a beat.

He opened the door a little bit more and shifted to the side as a signal for her to come in.

She didn't hesitate to accept the invitation.

She heard him close the door and turn the locks behind her. She stood still and waited for him to direct her where to go. For the most part it was dark in the diner; the only source of light came from the street lamps from outside that snuck in through the gaps in the blinds. She watched his figure move towards a table only a foot away from her and sat against it.

She was able to make out his outstretched hand that reached out for her and she willingly took it. He led her to stand between his thighs.

They stood in silence, both listening to the faint sound of the other breathing…

"I'm sorry I acted the way I did. I guess I was… jealous-" She confessed, fiddling with a random button on his shirt. She forced herself to look at him and lucky for her the dim light hit him just right where she could see his every expression.

He raised a brow and smirked.

"Okay, _really_ jealous… I mean knowing that you had sex with _her_… it just hurt."

Jess sighed, desperate for her to understand that Shane meant absolutely nothing to him.

"You're the one I want Rory." He told her in his 'no ifs ands or buts about it' way.

"I know. I just…" She frowned up at him. "I hate that you had sex with her."

"Rory-"

"That's all I have to say about that. Let's not talk about her… e_ver_."

"Ok." He agreed.

"Ok."

"So you didn't come here to break up with me." It clearly wasn't a question.

She shook her head no and smiled happily at what he was implying.

"So let's get on with the makeup portion shall we?" Both of his hands came to connect behind her, locking her to him.

He raised his chin slightly to meet her lips and kissed her tenderly. He pulled back a moment later. His face turned serious. "I'm sorry I lied to you."

She accepted his apology with a feather light kiss.

"I'm sorry I threw you out in the rain." Their hands intertwined, playing awkwardly.

He laughed. "I'm sorry you threw me out in the rain too. That was mean Rory, even for you."

"I know. I'm really sorry."

"Oh yea, how sorry?" He spoke quietly as his eyes darkened with lust as she bit her lip.

Her kiss told him just how sorry she was, begging for his forgiveness.

"I think you can do better than that."

She rolled her eyes at him and kissed him again, slowly this time.

"Better?"

"Much."

**..…'.' '.' …..**

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End file.
